>>Study Suggests Early Puberty May Be Linked To Common Chemical
(Durham, NC) -- A federal study suggests that early puberty, a growing issue in America, may be linked to a common chemical found in many personal care products. It's called musk ambrette and is used in a lot of inexpensive or counterfeit fragrances and other scented personal care products such as lotion, body washes and shampoos. Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences believe that musk ambrette can trigger early maturation by latching onto a puberty-related brain receptor. In May, a Harvard study showed that more than 15-percent of girls now experience early periods defined as younger than age eleven. That can produce shortened stature and higher adulthood risks of breast cancer, diabetes and heart disease.