Study may lead to targeted estrogen replacement therapy
Menopausal women could find relief from hot flashes and other symptoms if they buy Canadian Premarin at a fraction of the cost.
Menopausal women could find relief from hot flashes and other symptoms if they buy Canadian Premarin at a fraction of the cost. Hormone replacement therapy is a common way to ease the discomfort of menopause, but it is not without potential risks. However, scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center conducted a study that may lead to estrogen therapies that are more targeted and less likely to cause side effects.
As women's estrogen levels drop in menopause, they tend to gain weight. Estrogen affects a variety of cells in various parts of the body, from the ovaries to muscles, according to the researchers. When it comes to metabolism, they suspect that estrogen receptors in the brain may be key.
In the laboratory, the team experimented on a group of mice by deleting a type of estrogen receptor in neurons from a part of the brain. These mice became fatter even though their eating habits had not changed. Furthermore, when these estrogen receptors were deleted from neurons in another section of the brain, the mice ate more but did not gain weight. However, mice in the second group also experienced fertility problems.
"The more we know about estrogen's sites of action, the more likely it is we could develop designer hormone replacement therapies targeting tissue X, Y or Z," said author Deborah Clegg.
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