Abbott Lab publishes in Journal of the Endocrine Society

A new study by the Abbott research group, led by Professor David Abbott, PhD, of the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Reproductive Sciences, was just published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society!

“Aromatase Inhibition Eliminates Sexual Receptivity Without Enhancing Weight Gain in Ovariectomized Marmoset Monkeys” shows that estrogen from extra-ovarian sources, likely the brain, plays key roles in supporting female monkey sexual behavior and in regulating ovarian function, in contrast to results from female non-primates. Letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor typically used in women to suppress the body’s production of estrogen, was used to diminish total body estrogen in the monkeys. This study, while showing that estradiol ameliorates diet-induced obesity in female monkeys, as found in non-primates, did not show that extra-ovarian sources of estradiol contribute additional metabolic control.

A note from Dr. Abbott:

“One last big outcome: neither loss of ovarian estrogen or total body loss of estrogen, led to bone loss. These monkeys may have solved how to maintain adult female skeletal integrity when estrogen levels decline.”

Read the whole study here!