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Estrogens as antioxidants - reducing heart disease in younger postmenopausal women
July 04, 2003HRT could be used to protect younger postmenopausal women from heart disease. An article published in the journal Lipids in Health and Disease shows that estrogens commonly used in HRT reduce the build up of harmful oxidised lipoproteins, which can lead to heart disease, by acting as antioxidants.
It is well known that high-density lipoproteins (HDL) protect against heart disease while low-density lipoproteins (LDL) promote it. However, recent research has shown that the relationship is not that simple. The effectiveness of both types of lipoprotein change when they are oxidised by free radicals - highly reactive by-products of metabolism. If LDL becomes oxidised its ability to cause heart disease increases. If HDL becomes oxidised its ability to protect against heart disease is lessened.
Researchers from St. Michael's Hospital, part of the University of Toronto, have shown that estrogens can act as antioxidants, which neutralise free radicals, and hence protect HDL from oxidation. In addition, high levels of HDL are able to protect LDL from oxidation, and this ability is strongly enhanced when estrogens are present.
Dr Bhagu Bhavnani's team, who carried out the research, write, "The inhibition of HDL oxidation and the enhancement provided by estrogens toward the inhibition of LDL oxidation may be another way in which estrogens reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in healthy young postmenopausal women."
Although recent randomised control trials have shown that HRT in older women may not reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease, Dr. Bhavnani believes that this is not the whole story. Although his team carried out experiments in test tubes rather than in human subjects they saw that estrogen had beneficial effects at concentrations lower than those found in women on HRT. He urges that, "randomised control trials using lower doses of HRT, different estrogens and progestins, and in younger postmenopausal women, from 50 to 60 years, are urgently needed to resolve the confusion created by recent studies".
The research team used blood taken from men and postmenopausal women to carry out experiments in vitro. They measured the resistance of HDL to oxidation in the presence or absence of increasing concentrations of eleven different estrogens. All of these estrogens are components of a combined estrogen supplement that is commonly used for HRT by postmenopausal women. They then assessed whether the presence of HDL increased the resistance of LDL to oxidation, and if this resistance was further enhanced by the addition of estrogen.
They found that all the estrogens tested were able to protect HDL from oxidation and to enhance HDL's ability to protect LDL from oxidation. They also found that different estrogens had different potencies as antioxidants, with an estrogen called Equilenin being the most effective.
According to recent data from the British Heart Foundation, women are five times less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease than men. This reduced risk can only partly be explained by differences in behaviour, such as smoking or stress levels. As women's risk of heart disease increases after menopause it has been suggested that ovarian hormones such as estrogen play a role in protecting younger women from the disease. The research from Bhavnani's team supports this idea.
BioMed Central Limited
Dr Bhagu Bhavnani's team, who carried out the research, write, "The inhibition of HDL oxidation and the enhancement provided by estrogens toward the inhibition of LDL oxidation may be another way in which estrogens reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in healthy young postmenopausal women."
Although recent randomised control trials have shown that HRT in older women may not reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease, Dr. Bhavnani believes that this is not the whole story. Although his team carried out experiments in test tubes rather than in human subjects they saw that estrogen had beneficial effects at concentrations lower than those found in women on HRT. He urges that, "randomised control trials using lower doses of HRT, different estrogens and progestins, and in younger postmenopausal women, from 50 to 60 years, are urgently needed to resolve the confusion created by recent studies".
The research team used blood taken from men and postmenopausal women to carry out experiments in vitro. They measured the resistance of HDL to oxidation in the presence or absence of increasing concentrations of eleven different estrogens. All of these estrogens are components of a combined estrogen supplement that is commonly used for HRT by postmenopausal women. They then assessed whether the presence of HDL increased the resistance of LDL to oxidation, and if this resistance was further enhanced by the addition of estrogen.
They found that all the estrogens tested were able to protect HDL from oxidation and to enhance HDL's ability to protect LDL from oxidation. They also found that different estrogens had different potencies as antioxidants, with an estrogen called Equilenin being the most effective.
According to recent data from the British Heart Foundation, women are five times less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease than men. This reduced risk can only partly be explained by differences in behaviour, such as smoking or stress levels. As women's risk of heart disease increases after menopause it has been suggested that ovarian hormones such as estrogen play a role in protecting younger women from the disease. The research from Bhavnani's team supports this idea.
BioMed Central Limited
Heart Disease Current Events and Heart Disease News RSSMultiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive
A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."
Carvedilol shown to have unique characteristics among beta blockers
In a new study, researchers report that a class of heart medications called beta-blockers can have a helpful, or harmful, effect on the heart, depending on their molecular activity.
ESC to give talks on Diabetes in three cities in China
As a result of successful events organised last year, a second Joint Scientific Forum, organised by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), two of the most respected professional medical organisations in Europe, will be held from 27-29 November at three venues across China - Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Saving the single cysteine: new antioxidant system found
We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines.
Drug for erectile dysfunction improves heart function in young heart-disease patients
Heart function significantly improved in children and young adults with single-ventricle congenital heart disease who have had the Fontan operation following treatment with sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Study raises concerns about outdoor second-hand smoke
Indoor smoking bans have forced smokers at bars and restaurants onto outdoor patios, but a new University of Georgia study in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that these outdoor smoking areas might be creating a new health hazard.
Night Beat, Overtime and a Disrupted Sleep Pattern Can Harm Officers' Health
A police officer who works the night shift, typically from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., already is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good "night's" sleep.
Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease
The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant subjects also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells.
Vitamin B niacin offers no extra benefit to statin therapy in seniors already diagnosed with CAD
The routine prescription of extended-release niacin, a B vitamin (1,500 milligrams daily), in combination with traditional cholesterol-lowering therapy offers no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows.
Heart and bone damage from low vitamin D tied to declines in sex hormones
Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone.
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