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Disorders of penis development are on the rise and we're not sure why

February 15 2019

Is it just me that thinks an explanation has finally been provided for why basing a sex of man or woman upon a penis or a vagina doesn't make sense? Peachy Disorders of penis development are on the rise and we're not sure why: By Mark Green and Andrew Pask In prenatal ultrasounds or at delivery, many new parents look between their baby's legs: the presence of a penis is taken as a strong sign that it's a boy. For humans and other animals, development of a penis was thought to be driven by "male hormones" (androgens) produced entirely by the testes of the male fetus as it grows in the uterus. However, a new paper released today indicates this might not be the case. Instead, some of the masculinising hormones that drive penis development may come from other sources in the developing fetus. These include the liver, the adrenals (small glands found on the kidneys) and placenta. For the first time, this work comprehensively looks at the possible sites of hormone production outside the testes and their role in regulating masculinisation — the process of gaining typical male characteristics. This helps us see how we develop as embryos, and might feed into a bigger picture of why disorders of penis development are increasing. Testosterone is not enough The penis develops from an embryonic structure called the genital tubercle, or GT. The GT is present in both males and females, and develops into either a clitoris or penis, depending on its exposure to hormones secreted by the developing gonads (ovaries or testes). In females, the developing ovaries do not produce early hormones and the GT becomes feminised, forming a clitoris. In males, the developing testes produce testosterone. This circulates in the developing fetus and causes masculinisation of target tissues and induces penis development from the GT. Testosterone itself is a relatively weak hormone. It is converted in the penis to another hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which has a much more potent masculinising effect. It is the local conversion of testosterone to DHT within the tissue that is important for penis development and other changes. There are several ways in which the fetus can make DHT. The most simple is via conversion from testicular testosterone (the so-called "canonical" pathway). However, DHT can also be produced via other steroid hormone pathways active in many tissues, which is explored further in this new paper. Common birth defects Understanding the pathways that control penis development is important. Disorders affecting penis development are among the most common birth defects seen in humans, with hypospadias (a disorder affecting development of the urethra) currently affecting about one in every 115 live males born in Australia, and rates are on the rise. In fact, the incidence of hypospadias has doubled over the past 40 years. Such a rapid increase in incidence has been attributed to environmental factors, with endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) being proposed as a major cause. EDCs are man-made chemicals used in many industries — for example, in the production of plastics, cosmetics, flame retardants and pesticides. They can interfere with hormone and metabolic systems in our bodies. Of the 1,484 EDCs currently identified, a large number are known to negatively affect male reproductive development. Many studies have identified how EDCs negatively affect organs, such as the liver and adrenals, leading to diseases and disorders that damage the health of these organs and disturb male development. Backdoor pathway By measuring hormones from blood samples and tissues during the second trimester of human fetal development, this new research helps us understand the pathways driving the production of DHT, and masculinisation of the penis. It suggests that in addition to the canonical pathway (testosterone from the testis converted to DHT in the GT and driving penis development), male steroids are synthesised by other organs, such as the placenta, liver and adrenal gland via a process called the "backdoor" pathway to contribute to masculinisation. Notably, the backdoor pathway was first discovered through research conducted here in Australia on marsupials. The findings of this research suggest that EDCs might have effects in non-reproductive tissues, including the adrenals and liver, and then cause male reproductive diseases such as hypospadias. Also, it indicates that placental defects, such as intrauterine growth restriction that results in babies being born small, might contribute to male reproductive diseases in humans. Further research is now required to follow up on these interesting findings to explore possible new causal pathways of disorders that begin during pregnancy.

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RHP User

6 years ago

According to m

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RHP User

6 years ago

Ooops premature posting! According to my Ex boss who is transgender and was a hospital scientist....One theory is the ingestion of plastics which contain chemicals that mimic reproductive hormones. BPA was a massive culprit.

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OkeyDoke45

6 years ago

Reading the article twice (which was a challenge, my eyes glazed over) the only point I see it making is that modern pollutants might be driving an increase in disorders of the old fulla. I didn't read anything about gender identity in it, but it was a challenging read on account of the nomenclature. ABC's website does this kind of thing all the time - finds a new study performed by some uni somewhere and touts it as the definitive answer to whatever, when in reality it is only but one of many possible explanations.

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FeistyFatty

6 years ago

Interesting read but that's about all it is..... I wouldn't overthink it.

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RHP User

6 years ago

It still makes sense to call women women and men men based on their appearance and the genitalia they possess, in my opinion. Sure there’s the rare case where you might get corrected but that’s ok, you just apologise & move on, until language changes to make us all neutral that’s just how it’s going to be. It’s a discriptive word, like calling someone black or Chinese, but I guess that makes me racist too. How in the ever living fuck are we going to be able to describe anyone? “Oh it was a gender neutral colour neutral fucking height neutral living entity”. Lol, good luck finding the offender, Officers. As for modern pollutants possibly causing deformation of the reproductive system, there’s no surprises there! Look at the state of mankind’s mental health, it’s deteriorating at alarming rates and that’s probably linked to constamt ingestion of pollutants in some form too. Just look at the amount of mentally ill and intellectually challenged children we’re producing these days...there used to be maybe a handful of “strange” kids at school, now there’s a handful in every classroom. Far as I’m concerned penis development is the least of our worries.

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RHP User

6 years ago

In what is indeed a verbose write up. Is the mention that testosterone isn't the be all and end all in body formation. It made sense that we could end up with body parts that don't match our 'sex'. A flimsy thing to base it on maybe but there has to be a reason people identify differently to the body parts they were born with and I'd like to understand that. Peachy

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RHP User

6 years ago

Why there are more "strange" kids in classrooms is because schools have become more inclusive. Special schools still exist (neither special or schools IMO) but mainly provide for children who have quite high and complex support needs. Another reason is that before the late 70s early 80s parents were encouraged to place their child with a disability in an institution and to forget about them. It was at this time institutions started to close down and people moved back into community life living in group homes. Hugs Q

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Gr8distraction

6 years ago

My mum whilst carrying my youngest brother had a craving for Splice ice creams. The Pine Lime variant.It felt like every 5 minutes i was asked to jump on my bike and go down and get an ice cream. Use to drive me nuts.But he turned out fine.

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Tall74nHard9

6 years ago

Long winded article, interesting but as mentioned by other is that it has little to do with what we perceive. A woman is generally a woman and a man is generally a man. The only other genuine exceptions that I can think of is the case of hermaphrodites, but even then you will have masculine or feminine forms - and to the best of my current knowledge, they have also been around for some time and may not be able to accounted for by various environmental pollutants - rather just nature has gone off-tune, so to speak. Tall

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OkeyDoke45

6 years ago

Quoting 'Rapunzel82' As for modern pollutants possibly causing deformation of the reproductive system, there’s no surprises there! Look at the state of mankind’s mental health, it’s deteriorating at alarming rates and that’s probably linked to constamt ingestion of pollutants in some form too. Just look at the amount of mentally ill and intellectually challenged children we’re producing these days...there used to be maybe a handful of “strange” kids at school, now there’s a handful in every classroom. Far as I’m concerned penis development is the least of our worries. Don't know that pollutants are causing an increase in mental health problems among the young, so much as the modern world is. Growing up would be that much harder now I think. I am reading a book at the moment that has (one) theory on the rise of depression/anxiety etc among younger generations coming through now. It notes the rise started within a couple of years of smart phones entering the market. Every child has one shoved in their hand (''for safety'' apparently) pretty much when their arms come out of mums vagina, and a life of dependency on social media and seeing exactly how their life does not stack up against everyone else's begins.

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Mischeviouslad

6 years ago

Everyone’s profile name should now be prefaced with Doctor 😄

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usrightnow_Again

6 years ago

I saw that yesterday morning on the ABC News site but didn't click on it. I'm guessing that the whole thing is posted above , so will respond on that basis. Although the by-line indicates the story is by Green and Pask, at no point does the article mention the authors of the paper, the name of the paper being used for the information, nor the institute or organisation involved. Journalism is not what it once was, and perhaps, as a whole, not ever necessarily what it should have been, at least, with all too infrequent exceptions. Those all should be a given in an article of this nature. It doesn't necessarily say anything more than there has been a realisation that hormones that have an impact on masculinity come through different pathways, which is interesting and warrants further investigation, no doubt. There was a noted increase in some types of penis formation problems and that there were a number of EDCs that disrupt male reproductive organ formation, without specific detail. Really, the article was not, as some have said, too long but actually, too short to adequately cover the subject in an informative nature. There are frequently some long articles on the site , which I for one, appreciate. Many prefer a headline only or sound bite form of part information, each to their own. .. Q., you are right, there has been some integration of children with disabilities into mainstream schools, in some states. This can take the form of Special Education or Needs units within an existing school, or an individual may, with the assistance of support staff, attend mainstream classes or those classes within a school with no Special Needs Unit. In our experience Special Schools, are indeed schools. They have classrooms, qualified teachers and support staff, a tailored curriculum and classes. Remember, intellectual disability covers a wide range of diagnosis and disability. Likewise, those attending these schools cover Most degrees of intellectual disability. .. .. Rapunzel82, well, do tell us more Dr. Science. Here is what you said above: .. "As for modern pollutants possibly causing deformation of the reproductive system, there’s no surprises there! Look at the state of mankind’s mental health, it’s deteriorating at alarming rates and that’s probably linked to constamt ingestion of pollutants in some form too. Just look at the amount of mentally ill and intellectually challenged children we’re producing these days...there used to be maybe a handful of “strange” kids at school, now there’s a handful in every classroom. Far as I’m concerned penis development is the least of our worries. ".. .. As OD45., has alluded, interesting statement. I've not seen research showing a correlation between "pollutants" and an increase in mental health problems, feel free to enlighten us with specific research. There is evidence , as OD45. pointed out, that the rise of social media, has played a role . It should also be remembered that there is a greater acceptance of both mental health problems and discussion of such in 2019, than say, 1982. This will lead to greater numbers of those diagnosed with mental health problems. .. Another factor in regards to incidence of intellectual disability, of some types, is the increased rate of geriatric pregnancy, that is, pregnancy over the age of 35 years. Other factors are as I have mentioned above. As for your reference to "strange kids at school", well, we clearly had Very Different upbringings and attended Very different schools. In fact, I find the use of that term, "strange", offensive. Children and adults with a disability, particularly those with an intellectual disability, really should Not be thought of and spoken about in that way. It perpetuates discrimination . .. As always, this is just my one cent piece worth. Remember, even when bent or scratched, a one cent piece remains legal tender. And thank you to those who took the time to read All of what I wrote. .. Mr. urn. .

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RHP User

6 years ago

No..No..No... You've got it all wrong.. Were supposed to be discussing things like MAFS, and female squirting on here ! (Tongue firmly in cheek) 😂😂

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RHP User

6 years ago

Who's tongue in whose cheek? 😜

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RHP User

6 years ago

If we all did as were 'supposed' to do... None of us would be here would we? And here's my tongue, lolol. Firmly poked out in my cheeky way! Peachy

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Disorders of penis development are on the rise and we're not sure why

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