Effects of Age and Estrogen on Cerebrovascular Function

Does aging enhance the deleterious effects of exogenous estrogen in the female cerebrovasculature? In this engaging new podcast, Guest Editor Akos Koller (New York Medical College, Valhalla, and University of Physical Education, Budapest) interviews lead author John Stallone (Texas A & M University) and content expert Ines Drenjancevic (University of Osijek, Croatia) about the intriguing new work by Deer et al, which studied the interplay of vascular prostanoids, estrogen, and aging in small cerebral arteries. Why did the authors choose vasopressin to study the reactivity of the cerebral vasculature? How does the uncoupling of nitric oxide synthase to produce oxygen free radicals relate to aging? How does aging convert estrogen from a beneficial to a deleterious hormone? Listen and find out.

Rachel R. Deer, John N. Stallone Effects of estrogen on cerebrovascular function: age-dependent shifts from beneficial to detrimental in small cerebral arteries of the rat Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published May 15, 2016. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00645.2015.