Women and low estrogen

RATIONALE: Animal studies suggest that the so-called "female" hormone estrogen enhances spatial navigation and memory. This contradicts the observation that males generally out-perform females in spatial navigation and tasks involving spatial memory. A closer look at the vast number of studies actually reveals that performance differences are not so clear. OBJECTIVES: To help clarify the unclear performance differences between men and women and the role of estrogen, we attempted to isolate organizational from activational effects of estrogen on spatial navigation and memory...

Post-pregnancy breast cancer often carries a poor prognosis, posing a major clinical challenge. The increasing trend of later-life pregnancies exacerbates this risk, highlighting the need for effective chemoprevention strategies. Current options, limited to selective estrogen receptor modulators, aromatase inhibitors, or surgical procedures, offer limited efficacy and considerable side effects. Here, we report that cabergoline, a dopaminergic agonist, reduces the risk of breast cancer post-pregnancy in a Brca1/P53 -deficient mouse model, with implications for human breast cancer prevention...

The therapeutic landscape of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer includes endocrine treatments with aromatase inhibitors (AIs), selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), and selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs). Fulvestrant is the first approved SERD with proven efficacy and good tolerability in clinical practice. However, secondary drug resistance, low receptor affinity, and parental administration stimulated the search for new oral SERDs opening a new therapeutic era in ER + breast cancer...

This study examined the impact of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the occurrence of various cancers in postmenopausal women with de novo or a history of endometriosis. In the datasets for ten cancers (cervical, uterine, ovarian, breast, colon, gastric, liver, lung, pancreatic, and thyroid), women who received HRT (the HRT group) and those who did not (the control group) were selected by a 1:1 matching with those who met the study criteria. In the dataset for each cancer, the incidence of each cancer was very low (0...

High mammographic density, associated with increased tissue stiffness, is a strong risk factor for breast cancer per se. In postmenopausal women there is no differences in the occurrence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) depending on breast density. Preliminary data suggest that dense breast tissue is associated with a pro-inflammatory microenvironment including infiltrating monocytes. However, the underlying mechanism(s) remains largely unknown. A major roadblock to understanding this risk factor is the lack of relevant in vitro models...

Menopause is a state of estrogen deficiency that affects numerous estrogen-dependent tissues in the female body. Skin is one of the most affected organs. Many consider menopausal skin changes to be merely an aesthetic problem; however, they can significantly affect women's quality of life. Currently, there are no approved effective treatments to prevent or alleviate skin changes associated with estrogen deficiency. Standard systemic hormone replacement therapy used to treat menopausal symptoms may be effective to some degree for skin treatment...

Endometriosis is a complex gynecological pathology with a broad spectrum of symptoms, affecting around 10% of reproductive-aged women. Ovarian cancer (OC) is a heterogeneous disease for which we lack effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The etiology and pathogenesis of both diseases remain ambiguous. Androgens in endometriosis could have a distinct role beyond serving as estrogen sources, whereas in the case of serous OC could be important in the formation of precursor lesions which ultimately lead to tumor formation...

Menopause is accompanied by several metabolic adaptations, which are related to insulin resistance, increased total body fat mass, and central abdominal fat accumulation, predisposing women to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) development. Metabolic syndrome has a high prevalence in postmenopausal women, indicating the loss of estrogen protection on metabolic and cardiovascular health. Moreover, earlier age at menopause has been related to increased risk of T2DM. Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) has favorable results in glucose metabolism...

Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are a cornerstone adjuvant treatment of many hormone receptor-positive breast cancers, and nearly half of women taking aromatase inhibitors suffer from AI-induced arthralgia (AIA), also known as AI-associated musculoskeletal syndrome (AIMSS), for which there are limited evidence-based treatments. Pharmacologic management and complementary methods including supplements, exercise, physical therapy, yoga, acupuncture, and massage have all shown mixed results. Comprehensive diet and lifestyle strategies are understudied in AIA/AIMSS despite their disease-modifying effects across many chronic conditions...

BACKGROUND: Hand disorders are common in menopausal women. Equol is a soy metabolite produced in humans and its production level differs among individuals. The purpose of this research is to investigate the correlative relationship between variables indicating equol production levels and the occurrence of hand disorders in menopausal and postmenopausal women. METHODS: Female subjects were divided into two groups: women 45-70 years of age with hand osteoarthritis (patient group) and women in the same age range without hand osteoarthritis (control group)...

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and migraine headaches, hypothesized to be vasoactive conditions, are associated with greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events including strokes. METHODS: We performed a secondary data analysis of a subset of women (n = 1,954) in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a population-based cohort, which began data collection at 18 to 30 y of age. We examined whether migraine headaches and VMS trajectories (characterized as minimal, increasing, and persistent) at CARDIA year 15 examination were associated with higher risk of CVD events and stroke (both ischemic and hemorrhagic) using Cox proportional hazards regression models and adjustment for traditional CVD risk factors (age, cigarette use, and levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, high- and low-density cholesterol, and triglycerides) and reproductive factors...

BACKGROUND: National guidelines recommend omitting SNB in older patients with favorable invasive breast cancer. However, there is a lack of prospective data specifically addressing this issue. This study evaluates recurrence and survival in estrogen receptor-positive/Her2- (ER+) breast cancer patients, aged ≥ 65 years who have breast-conserving surgery (BCS) without SNB. METHODS: This is a prospective, observational study at a single institution where 125 patients aged ≥ 65 years with clinical T1-2N0 ER+ invasive breast cancer undergoing BCS were enrolled...

Aim To investigate the effects of estrogen-related events (age at menopause, age at menarche) on later-life skeletal fragility in Bosnian postmenopausal women. Methods A total of 100 postmenopausal Bosnian women, aged between 55 and 75 years, were included. The women in the study group (n=50) had fragility fractures, and in the control group (n=50) were without fragility fractures. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) on the lumbar spine (L2-L4) and proximal femur...

Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common types of cancer in Poland and worldwide. Many risk factors lead to the pathogenesis of this disease, such as lifestyle choices, BMI, the medicines used in breast cancer therapy, and Lynch syndrome. EC cells show the expression of estrogen receptors (ERs) and progesterone receptors (PgR). These receptors occur in multiple isoforms and have a significant influence on the operation of cells. The loss of ER and PgR expression is associated with a poor prognosis...

PURPOSE: One major risk factor for breast cancer is high mammographic density. It has been estimated that dense breast tissue contributes to ~ 30% of all breast cancer. Prevention targeting dense breast tissue has the potential to improve breast cancer mortality and morbidity. Anti-estrogens, which may be associated with severe side-effects, can be used for prevention of breast cancer in women with high risk of the disease per se. However, no preventive therapy targeting dense breasts is currently available...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies investigating the association between loss of estrogen at menopause and skeletal muscle mass came to contradictory conclusions. AIM: To evaluate the association between serum estradiol level and appendicular lean mass index in middle-aged postmenopausal women using population-based data. METHODS: This study included 673 postmenopausal women, aged 40-59 years, from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2013 and 2016...

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of women's mortality, linked to aging and reduced estrogen during menopause. Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is suggested for CVDs prevention. Yet, its timing initiation remains contentious. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the effect of early and late estrogen therapy on cardiac function and lipid metabolism in ovariectomized old female Wistar rats. METHODS: Fifty randomized female Wistar rats were included in 5 groups (n = 10, 18 months old): (1) Sham, (2) 10 weeks post ovariectomy (Ovx-10 w), (3) 10 weeks post Ovx + early estrogen replacement therapy (Ovx 10 w-early ERT), (4) 20 weeks post Ovx (Ovx-20 w) and (5) Ovx 20 w-late ERT...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy occurring in reproductive-age women. Hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovaries, chronic anovulation, and metabolic aberrations are the common features in PCOS. Hormonal changes are causing pathological symptoms in women with PCOS. The various hormone alterations in PCOS have been demonstrated. Hormones, such as insulin, growth hormones (GH), ghrelin, LEAP-2, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), insulin, the luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone (LH/FSH) ratio, androgens, and estrogens, are all abnormal in PCOS women...

BACKGROUND: Androgens are important sex hormones in both men and women and are supplemented when endogenous levels are low, for gender transitioning, or to increase libido. Androgens also circulate at higher levels in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a condition that increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases including hypertension and arterial stiffness. Since our previous work shows an important role for the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) in arterial stiffness, we hypothesized that other hormones including androgens may impact arterial stiffness in female mice via downregulation of GPER...

Breast cancer, with its global prevalence and impact on women's health, necessitates effective early detection and accurate staging for optimal patient outcomes. Traditional imaging modalities such as mammography, ultrasound, and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) play crucial roles in local-regional assessment, while bone scintigraphy and 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18 F-FDG PET/CT) aid in evaluating distant metastasis. Despite the proven utility of 18 F-FDG PET/CT in various cancers, its limitations in breast cancer, such as high false-negative rates for small and low-grade tumors, have driven exploration into novel targets for PET radiotracers, including estrogen receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2, fibroblast activation protein, and hypoxia...