Muscles may need estrogen, especially on aging

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

The combination of inactivity and lack of estrogen may spell loss of independence for older women.
We lose muscle mass as we get older and, according to a new study, estrogen may play an important role in this. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have carried out research into rats deprived of estrogen. They were given simulated bed-rest and compared to a group not deprived of estrogen. Those who were estrogen-deprived could not recover their strength after inactivity. But the animals with normal estrogen did recover.

Translated into humans, this work suggests that the combination of post-menopausal estrogen loss and enforced inactivity may be especially dangerous. Women in this situation risk losing their independence through a fall or loss of physical functioning. Resistance exercise can be very helpful in helping maintain muscle strength throughout life.

Source
University of Missouri-Columbia 7th July 2006

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