Estrogen in the brain prevents obesity and glucose intolerance during menopause in lab animal study
The study conducted by Christina Estrada, a doctoral candidate in the UC psychology graduate program in the laboratory of Matia Solomon, PhD, an Associate Professor in the UC Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, used surgically-induced menopause to cause obesity in rats and identified brain areas that benefit from estrogen replacement. The findings will be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB). "We know as women age and enter into menopause, they tend to gain body weight and body fat, particularly in the abdominal or 'belly' area. Excess abdominal fat greatly increases risk for cardio-metabolic diseases," says Solomon. "While there are likely many factors that are associated with these risks in menopausal women, estrogen loss is associated with body weight and fat gain during menopause. In fact, estrogen treatment can offset this weight gain in many women." The medial amygd...