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Estrogen Tells Brain Where Fat Goes
Aug. 20, 2007 -- A woman's brain uses estrogen to balance food intake with energy output -- and to tell fat where to go.
That's why women not only gain weight after menopause, but also why the weight they gain goes to the wrong places, suggest Deborah J. Clegg, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Cincinnati.
Clegg and colleagues used recently developed "gene silencing" techniques to inactivate a set of switches in the brains of female rats. The switches are estrogen receptors, which normally respond to estrogen. Clegg and colleagues removed these receptors from a specific part of the brain that controls food intake, energy expenditure, and fat distribution.
What happened? The rats' bodies slowed down. They had less energy. And they began to gain weight, even though they weren't given any extra food.
Moreover, the rats put on belly fat -- fatty tissue around the abdominal organs -- the most dangerous kind of fat. It's linked to heart disease and diabetes.
"Women are protected from these negative consequences as long as they carry their weight in their hips and saddlebags," Clegg says in a news release. "But when they go through menopause and the body fat shifts to the abdomen, they have to start battling all of these medical complications."
Clegg's hope is that her studies will lead to the development of "designer estrogen therapies" that would target these brain regions and reduce a menopausal woman's tendency to gain weight.
Clegg reported the findings at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
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VIVELLE-DOT (estradiol transdermal system) IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRPTION ONLY.
INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills).
Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
The most common side effects that may occur with Vivelle-Dot are headache, breast tenderness, and back pain.
You and your healthcare professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Vivelle-Dot.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
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