Aging and Menopause Flashcards
what happens to estrogen with age, in men and women?
Men: no change with age
Women: sharp drop in estrogen at menopause
what happens to progesterone with age, in men and women?
no change in men or women
what is menopause?
permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from loss of ovarian function
stop producing oocytes, stop producing estrogen
how have years of active life after menopause changed over time?
increased
how do FSH, LH, estrone, and estradiol levels change after menopause?
FSH and LH: big increase
Estradiol: big decrease
Estrone: decrease
what is estrone?
estradiol metabolite
what is the source of estrogen before menopause?
ovary and granulosa cells make lots of estradiol
what is the source of estrogen after menopause?
adrenals make androstenedione which adipose uses to produce a bit of estrone
what 2 hormones are used in female hormone replacement therapy?
- estrogen
- progesterone
what is the mechanism of estrogen action?
- estrogen enters the nucleus
- estrogen acts on ER
- estrogen+ER interacts with response elements to change gene expression and affect cell behaviour
where are ERs located in the body? (6)
throughout the body
- brain
- heart
- breast
- liver
- uterus
- bone
what are 2 types of ER? how are they similar, how are they different?
ER alpha and ER beta
similar in ligand binding domain and DNA binding domain
different in hinge and activation domain
why does the type of ER matter?
can selectively cause drugs to activate one or the other
describe the 2 types of progesterone mechanisms
GENOMIC PATHWAY
- Progesterone enters nucleus and acts on PR to change gene expression
- slow
SECOND MESSENGER
- Progesterone binds PR on membrane and activates non-genomic secondary messengers
- fast
what are 5 targets of progesterone action (i.e. where are PR located)?
- CNS
- systemic effects
- endometrium, vagina, cervix
- mammary gland
- hypothalamus + anterior pituitary
what does progesterone affect in the CNS? (3)
- sleep
- EEG patterns
- thermoregulation
what systemic effects does progesterone affect? (3)
- glucose metabolism
- protein metabolism
- water and electrolyte metabolism
what are the 3 early menopause-related symptoms? how long do these effects last?
- hot flashes
- insomnia
- moodiness
weeks to months
what are the 3 intermediate menopause-related symptoms? how long do these effects last?
- vaginal atresia
- bladder dysfunction
- skin atrophy
months to years
what are the 2 late menopause-related symptoms? how long do these effects last?
- osteoporosis
- CVD
years to decades
why is progesterone added to estrogen?
P added to E in women with an intact uterus to reduce increased risk of endometrial cancer
^estrogen alone could lead to endometrial cancer
what hormones can people without a uterus take?
E alone or E+P
what are 4 benefits of using hormonal therapy for menopause?
- symptom control
- skeletal benefit
- decreased coronary heart disease
- breast cancer (E alone)
what are 3 EARLY menopause symptoms?
- hot flashes
- night sweats
- moodiness
what percent of postmenopausal women experience hot flashes, night sweats, and moodiness?
50-85%
what are the 3 ways to control menopausal symptoms? do they work?
- lifestyle modifications –> less practical
- hormone therapy –> works well
- non-hormonal approaches –> some may work
describe the crossover study showing that estrogen can reduce the incidence of hot flashes
1 group received ctrl, 1 group received estrogen then switched
group that received estrogen had lower hot flasehs
how can you use estrogen for vaginal dryness?
use low dose local estrogen creams (systemic estrogen not needed)
in what type of woman is hormone replacement therapy (HRT) recommended?
women <60 or within 10 years of menopause onset, no contraindications, willing take estrogen with/without progesterone