Chemical in BPA-Free Products Linked to Irregular Heartbeats
New ingredient in plastic bottles, receipts has same effect on lab animals as the old chemical does.
Many consumers avoid products that contain bisphenol-A (BPA) because the estrogen-imitating chemical has been linked to an array of health effects in people and animals. But new research published Thursday suggests that an ingredient that has replaced BPA in many items may have a similar effect on the heart.
BPA-free labels have been popping up on many plastic bottles, cash register receipts, food packaging, and other products.
Although the label implies a sense of safety, "our research suggests that BPS and potentially other BPA substitutes aren't necessarily free of health problems," said Hong-Sheng Wang, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Exposure to BPS, or bisphenol-S, caused irregular heartbeats in female lab rats, according to the study by Wang and colleagues published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The findings were "remarkably similar—if not identical to—what we find in BPA," Wang said.
The scientists discovered that BPS changes how the rats' cells respond to estrogen, a result that has been suggested in previous studies. Specifically, BPS interferes with the way calcium is stored in heart muscle cells, causing leakage as well as extra absorption. That, in turn, alters heartbeats.
This is the same way that BPA affects rats' hearts, "raising the concern of potential cardiac toxicity of BPS," Wang said.
