The protective effects of estrogen on the cardiovascular system.
In menopause, our bones begin losing
the protective effects of estrogen, and we start to lose bone faster than we can replace it.
This does not come as a big surprise, as the cholesterol lowering
protective effects of estrogen are well known.
Recent papers have even suggested that the cardioprotective
protective effects of estrogen may be largely mediated by 2 - CH30 E2, which inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell growth in arteries.
The findings in this new study support earlier evidence from studies in animals that showed
protective effects of estrogen against the flu.
Not exact matches
Estrogen is thought to be
protective of heart health through its beneficial
effects on cholesterol and because it increases the flexibility
of blood vessels and arteries, allowing them to accommodate blood flow.
Estrogens have been reported to exert
protective vascular
effects in animal and observational but randomized clinical trials did not report such
effects in older women, even suggesting the possibility
of an increased CVD risk in this setting, especially with combined
estrogen plus progestin therapy.
In their study, the Geneva researchers were also able to dissect the fine cellular mechanisms involved:
Of the three
estrogens receptors, only one is mainly involved in this
protective effect.
They've discovered a group
of immune regulating genes that become more active in the presence
of estrogen, offering a clue to how the hormone's normally
protective effects could go awry.
New research from Emory University School
of Medicine and Harvard Medical School provides insight into how
estrogen changes gene activity in the brain to achieve its
protective effects.
The bad: When you lose
estrogen, you lose its
protective effects on your heart and bones, so your risk
of osteoporosis and heart disease rises.
(13)(14) Pregnant women are known to have less migraine headaches than women not bearing children, (13) which is indiciative
of the elevated levels
of progesterone during pregnancy and progesterone's
protective effects against
estrogen.
Estriol has been found to have beneficial immune - modulating
effects in patients with multiple sclerosis, increasing
protective immune responses and decreasing the number and volume
of lesions seen in cerebral MRIs.22 Estriol is the primary
estrogen produced during pregnancy, when it is made by placenta from 16α - OH DHEA sulfate (DHEA - S), an androgen made in the fetal liver and in the adrenal glands.23
Meanwhile, DHEA is a precursor to other important hormones like testosterone and estradiol (
estrogen), and decreased DHEA levels are associated with many symptoms
of aging, due to its
protective effects against damage from sources like excess cortisol.
Aside from their key findings on risk factors, they also found grade 1 level evidence in favor
of a
protective effect for the female hormone
estrogen, cholesterol lowering drugs (statins), drugs to lower high blood pressure, and anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).