The nigrostriatal dopaminergic (NSDA) pathway degenerates in Parkinson's disease (PD), which occurs with approximately twice the incidence in men than women. Studies of the influence of systemic estrogens in females suggest sex hormones contribute to these differences. In this review we analyze the evidence revealing great complexity in the response of the healthy and injured NSDA system to hor...

Gender differences play a major role in the manifestation of cardiovascular disease including cardiac arrhythmias. In particular, female sex is an independent risk factor for development of torsade de pointes (TdP) arrhythmias not only in congenital long QT syndromes but also in acquired long QT syndromes which occur as adverse effects of existing drugs. Recent clinical and experimental studies...

Sex steroids, also known as gonadal steroids, are oxidized with hydroxylation by cytochrome P450, glucuronidation by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, sulfation by sulfotransferase, andO-methylation by catechol O-methyltransferase. Thus, it is important to determine the process by which inflammation influences metabolism of gonadal hormones. Therefore, we investigated the mechanism of metabolic enzy...

background and objective: endocrine disorders are common in patients with chronic kidney disease (ckd). the aim of the present study is reviewing available literature to give a deep understanding of complexities of endocrine disorders in chronic kidney disease. methods: a narrative reviewing method based on the available literature was approached. findings: generally, when renal function decrea...

background : electromagnetic fields are associated with production, transmission and use of electricity. in this  tudy we have investigated the effects of short and long time alternative magnetic fields' (amf, 50 hz) exposure on the secretion of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in the male rats. methods : forty eight wistar male rats, same range of age and weight were divided into four group...

We investigated the effects of an artificial menstrual cycle on brain structure and activity in young women using metabolic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We show that the activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis during the pill-free interval of low-dose combined oral contraceptive use is associated with transient microstructural and metabolic changes in the female hypothalamus b...

The cerebral vasculature is a target tissue for sex steroid hormones. Estrogens, androgens, and progestins all influence the function and pathophysiology of the cerebral circulation. Estrogen decreases cerebral vascular tone and increases cerebral blood flow by enhancing endothelial-derived nitric oxide and prostacyclin pathways. Testosterone has opposite effects, increasing cerebral artery ton...

Risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with age-related loss of sex steroid hormones in both women and men. In post-menopausal women, the precipitous depletion of estrogens and progestogens is hypothesized to increase susceptibility to AD pathogenesis, a concept largely supported by epidemiological evidence but refuted by some clinical findings. Experimental evidence suggests that estr...

Alkaloids in tobacco and cigarette smoke causes malfunction of the endocrine system. Under certain conditions, smoking may be a risk factor for the development of hormone dependent pathology. Researching the relationship between smoking and sex steroid hormone status was based on the investigation of serum androgens and estrogens in men, smokers and nonsmokers. Comparative determinations were m...

In this issue of the Journal, Zhang et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2011;174(4):403-411) make a substantial contribution to research in the area of hormonal influences on cardiac repolarization by demonstrating an inverse association between testosterone levels and the Bazett's adjusted QT interval (QTc) and RR-adjusted QT interval in men but not in postmenopausal women. They suggest that testosterone ...