Although pre-menopausal women enjoy relative cardiovascular protection, hormone (oestrogen+/-progestin)-replacement therapy has not shown cardiovascular benefits in post-menopausal women, suggesting that the effects of oestrogens on the cardiovascular system are much more complex than previously expected. Endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts, the cellular com...

Available evidence (Greenwald, 1961; Emmens & Finn, 1962) shows that natural and synthetic oestrogens given to female rats alter ova transport and thus prevent pregnancy. Preliminary work in our laboratory showed that when oestrogens were administered to male rats which were then mated with normal females, pregnancy did not ensue. The present study was undertaken to in¬ vestigate the mechanism ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether oestrogens can be used as treatment to diminish disease activity in women with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS Forty postmenopausal female patients with active rheumatoid arthritis participated in a placebo-controlled, double-blind study on the possible beneficial effect of adjuvant treatment of oestradiol on disease activity. RESULTS Thirty three patients com...

Ovaries were obtained from tammar wallabies at various stages of the reproductive cycle to examine the occurrence of oestrogens in corpora lutea, and the synthesis and metabolism of steroids in the corpus luteum and ovarian cortical and interstitial tissues. Corpora lutea contained oestradiol-17 beta and oestrone during embryonic diapause and at all stages of pregnancy studied after blastocyst ...

The development of radioimmunoassay of steroid hormones in peripheral venous blood has led to a more direct index of gonadal production and concurrent monitoring of glandular function. While serial analyses of total urinary oestrogens can be correlated with luteinizing hormone (LH) excretion in treating amenorrhoea, radioimmunoassay of plasma oestrogens measures acute changes in ovarian respons...

Tamoxifen is widely used in the treatment of breast cancer and has been proposed as a prophylactic agent in this disease. Tamoxifen is an effective antioxidant and protects membranes and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles against oxidative damage. This antioxidant action is shared by endogenous and synthetic oestrogens. The ability of tamoxifen to protect LDL particles against the oxidativ...