Abstract

Estradiol, one of the sex hormones responsible for gender dimorphism and reproduction, is a pleitropic hormone with widespread biological actions far beyond human reproduction alone. For example, withdrawal of the effects of estradiol at menopause from non-reproductive tissues like the skeleton, the cardiovascular system, and the brain, is a major risk factor for the development of osteoporosis, coronary artery disease, stroke, and perhaps neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. On the other hand, continuous exposure of reproductive tissues to estrogen during the post reproductive part of life is a risk factor for the development of breast, and uterine cancer.

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H.A.P. Pols (Huib) , A. Hofman (Albert)
Erasmus University Rotterdam
The studies described in this thesis were supported the Netherlands Organization for Scientifi c Research under the Research Institute Diseases in the Elderly grant (grant No. 014-90-001). The Rotterdam Study is supported by the Erasmus Medical Center and Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands Organization for Scientifi c Research (NWO), the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), the Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE), the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, the European Commission (DG XII), and the Municipality of Rotterdam. The contributions of the general practitioners and pharmacists of the Ommoord district to the Rotterdam Study are greatly acknowledged. The author gratefully acknowledges the collaboration with the Diagnostic Center Eindhoven (J.J. Keyzer, V.J. Pop, G. Leusink), the Julius Center for General Practice and Patient Oriented Research, University Medical Center Utrecht (D.E. Grobbee, Y.T. van der Schouw) and the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Australia (E. Seeman). Financial support by the Departments of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology & Biostatistics of the Erasmus Medical Center, the Dutch Society for Calcium and Bone Metabolism and the Netherlands Heart Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.
hdl.handle.net/1765/51193
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Klein Nagelvoort-Schuit, S. (2004, June 16). Genetic Aspects of the Estrogen Signaling Pathway. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/51193