Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
4
pubmed:dateCreated
1993-12-17
pubmed:abstractText
Estradiol provides physiological signals to the brain throughout life that are indispensable for the development and regulation of reproductive function. In addition to its multiple physiological actions, we have shown that estradiol is also selectively cytotoxic to beta-endorphin neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. The mechanism underlying this neurotoxic action appears to involve the conversion of estradiol to catechol estrogen and subsequent oxidation to o-semiquinone free radicals. The estradiol-induced loss of beta-endorphin neurons engenders a compensatory increment in mu opioid binding in the medial preoptic area rendering this region supersensitive to residual beta-endorphin or to other endogenous opioids. The consequent persistent opioid inhibition results in a cascade of neuroendocrine deficits that are ultimately expressed as a chronically attenuated plasma LH pattern to which the ovaries respond by becoming anovulatory and polycystic. This neurotoxic action of estradiol may contribute to a number of reproductive disorders in humans and in animals in which aberrant hypothalamic function is a major component.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Oct
pubmed:issn
0006-3363
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
49
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
647-52
pubmed:dateRevised
2005-11-16
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1993
pubmed:articleTitle
Pathologic effect of estradiol on the hypothalamus.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Anatomy, McGill University, Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review