Estrogen may protect from aneurysms

By April Clarkson, June 15th, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

A study in male rats shows that giving them a type of estrogen protects from abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Men are disproportionately affected by abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), a potentially fatal condition in which a bulge in the aorta wall may burst. The aorta is the largest artery in the body and the aneurysm develops out of a weakness in the wall structure - but doctors don’t really know why it happens.

A team at the University of Michigan sheds new light on AAA through a series of studies in male rats. They find that the aorta of the male rat has much more of a protein called MMP, which can help weaken and destroy the vessel wall. But giving a version of the female hormone estrogen can greatly reduce MMP activity, which could reduce the risk of AAA. The findings may explain why men are more susceptible to AAA and, even more importantly, open up a possible avenue for treating those most at risk.