Scott Kerlin, PhD, M.S., Kerlin & Associates Research grad-mentor.com
Accompanying Facebook Group:
(Private): DES Research and Support Group of Dr. Scott Kerlin
Contact Information:
Scott Kerlin: skerlin1@gmail.com or desexposed@gmail.com
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Overview
This page introduces visitors to my 30+ year historic review of research focusing on the effects of human exposure to the synthetic female estrogenic drug diethylstilbestrol (DES). DES was first synthesized in 1938 in the U.K. but was never patented. It is a synthetic estrogen, estimated to be five times more potent than naturally occurring estrogen (estradiol).
DES was prescribed to between 5 and 10 million pregnant women worldwide as pills, injections, suppositories, and creams between 1947 and the 1970s to prevent miscarriage, premature labor, and related complications of pregnancy. It continued to be marketed in France until the late 1970s and continued to be used for treating other conditions through the 1990s.
Outside of pregnancy use, DES was prescribed to suppress lactation, as an “After Morning Pill” and as an estrogen treatment to reduce the adult height of tall girls. It was also used as early as 1944 as a form of “chemical castration” for the purpose of lowering men’s testosterone levels. It was typically given to women in non-standardized doses.
DES was sold under more than 200 different brand names in the U.S. and the UK. Aggressive marketing in several countries (including Canada, Europe, and Australia) led to its use for more than 100 additional medical conditions.
In 1970, DES was found to be a teratogen, causing cancer and other several severe side effects in the mothers, daughters and sons who were exposed, and ultimately also in the third and fourth generations. Subsequently, the FDA advised physicians to cease prescribing DES once the first adverse health outcomes appeared, though it was not formally banned by the FDA until September 2000.
DES is known as an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC), one of a number of substances that interfere with the endocrine system to potentially cause cancer, birth defects, severe health impairments in a variety of areas, and a variety of developmental and psychological/psychiatric neurological effects.
Research on the overall effects of DES began as early as 1939, and the first research documenting ineffective and ultimately carcinogenic effects of prenatal DES exposure began as early as 1953.
Diethylstilbestrol Syndrome is recognized by the U.S. National Institutes of Health Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center as a rare disease. According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), “DES syndrome” refers to developmental or health problems caused by exposure to DES before birth (in utero), such as reproductive tract differences, infertility, and an increased risk for certain cancers.
Contents of this Website:
>> Updated November 2025 <<
I have devoted ongoing investigation of DES to the body of published and investigative research emphasizing the following areas. I recommend this directory as a starting point for you as you seek to learn more about DES:
(1) DES Timeline U.S.: Diethylstilbestrol (DES) From Discovery to Today, Updated April 2024, by Karen Fernandes, RN, CPHQ, CPAA (downloadable 59-page pdf file)
(2) DES Timeline, from the French Association of Patients and Victims of Diethylstilbestrol and Diethylstilbestrol Syndrome
(3) Fernandes and Kerlin, Caring for the DES-Exposed Patient: A Guide for Doctors and Patients, June 2024 Update (downloadable 16-page pdf file, also available on request at des-exposed@gmail.com)
(5) DES Mothers and Daughters: Research Trends 1970s to 2025
(6) DES and Breast Cancer Research Trends 1978-2025
(7) DES Sons, Endocrine Disruption, and Male Reproductive Health: Research Trends 1959-2025
(8) DES: Psychological, Psychiatric, and Neurological Effects Research Trends 1959-2025
(9) DES and Endocrine Disruptors: Multiple Generations Research Trends 1990 -2025
(11) Dr. Kerlin’s 2020 Conference Paper Focused on DES and Sexuality Research, Updated in 2025 (Beyond Hormones Conference)
(12) Dr. Kerlin’s 2025 Featured Research Guide (October Update): Gender Identity, Transgender, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Euphoria, Nonbinary–Academic Publications 1984-2025
(13) (2024 Recommended Reading), Resilience: A Scientist’s Campaign Against Synthetic Hormones, by Marie-Odile Gobillard
(14) (2025 Recommended Reading), Fetal Exposition to Synthetic Sex Hormones: Their Nature and Impact on Human Health, edited by Marie-Odile Gobillard & Charles Sultan
(15) The Legacy of Diethylstilbestrol (DES): A Systemic Failure and the Fight for Justice (2025, Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative, The Open University, UK)
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