2.2.2.5 Reproductive Effects
Three case reports and a clinical study described reproductive effects in women taking 2,4-DNP for weight reduction. A young girl who subsequently died after taking 1.03 mg/kg/day 2,4-DNP was found to have a
small and infantile uterus and numerous follicular cysts in the ovary (Goldman and Haber 1936). Physical examination of a woman who took 2.32 mg/kg/day 2,4-DNP revealed
fibroid degeneration of the uterus and a cystic left ovary (Beinhauer 1934). Whether or not these were preexisting conditions is not known. A patient who had been taking 3.3 mg/kg/day 2,4-DNP as the sodium salt for 98 days was found to be pregnant (Epstein and Rosenblum 1935).
After taking the drug for an additional 45 days, she was hospitalized for profuse vaginal bleeding, and no evidence of a fetus was found. The authors concluded the 2,4-DNP caused a premature separation of the placenta, resulting in miscarriage. In an extensive clinical study of 159 patients taking 3 mg/kg/day 2,4-DNP as the sodium salt for 22-89 days, altered menstrual cycles or amenorrhea developed in 15 of an unspecified number of women (Simkins 1937a, 1937b). In addition, 18 of an unspecified number of women experienced excessive menstrual edema. The author noted that most menstrual disorders common in obese women can be corrected by proper diet, but because the menstrual changes in many of the women in the study were so marked and occurred so soon after 2,4-DNP dosing (i.e., before any significant weight loss), he concluded that the altered menstrual cycles were due to a direct action of 2,4-DNP.
www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp64-c2.pdf