Is This Why Post-Menopausal Women Have A Hard Time Losing Weight?

Is This Why Post-Menopausal Women Have A Hard Time Losing Weight?
Dr. Holly A. Ingraham Ph.D.
Estrogen depletion in rodents and humans leads to inactivity, fat accumulation and type 2 diabetes, underscoring the conserved metabolic benefits of estrogen that inevitably decrease with age. In rodents, the pre-ovulatory surge in 17β-estradiol (E2) temporarily increases energy expenditure to coordinate increased physical activity with peak sexual receptivity. Here we report that a subset of estrogen-sensitive neurons in the ventrolateral ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus projects to arousal centers in the hippocampus and hindbrain, and enables estrogen to rebalance energy allocation in female mice.