A new study has found that smoking cigarettes can block oestrogen production in women’s brains. Interestingly this finding could explain why it is harder for women to quit smoking than men.
Smoking blocks the production of estrogen in women
Uppsala University’s Associate Professor Erika Comasco said that for the first time, they have established how nicotine can block oestrogen production in a woman’s brain. Comasco said they are startled that the impact of nicotine could be seen with even one cigarette, demonstrating the potency of cigarette smoking in a woman’s brain.
He explained that this newly discovered impact is still preliminary. Researchers are not certain what cognitive or behavioural outcomes are, only that nicotine works on the brain area, which is a target for addictive drugs like nicotine.
The study involved ten healthy female participants who received nicotine doses comparable to those found in one cigarette. The participants were then given an injection of a radiotracer that had been coupled to a body molecule that attaches to aromatase, an enzyme that makes estrogen.
Using MRI or PET brain imaging, researchers could measure the body’s estrogen levels and pinpoint their location in the brain. The findings indicated that a single nicotine dose mildly decreased brain aromatase levels, indicating reduced estrogen after only one cigarette.
The findings led the researchers to believe that nicotine affects the production of estrogen and other functions like reproduction that are yet to be understood.
Women are resistant to nicotine replacement therapy
Women and men respond to cigarette smoking in very different ways, and these differences are substantial. Women have a stronger propensity for smoking, face higher relapses, appear more resistant to nicotine replacement therapy, and are likely to suffer from main smoking-related disorders like heart attacks and lung cancer. There is a need to understand if the nicotine action on the hormone system plays a role in these reactions.
Smoking is associated with several harmful consequences, but the nicotine effect on the decrease in oestrogen levels in women was not previously documented.
