New Understanding Of Estrogen Benefit For Women: Lilly

Researchers from Eli Lilly studying the mechanism of action of the investigational compound raloxifene have discovered a new pathway through which estrogen affects various organs, according to an article in the journal Science. Their findings may have important physiological implications for women, particularly their skeletal and cardiovascular health.

In a statement, Lilly notes that researchers have, for several decades, acknowledged the benefits of estrogen in protecting women from cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and, more recently, Alzheimer's disease. However, they have also warned against the potential increase in breast and uterine cancer, and throughout this period have searched for an explanation of why estrogen affects various organs of the body so differently.

Raloxifene Studies In studies conducted with raloxifene, a drug that counters estrogen action in the breast while mimicking it in the bone, the Lilly team, led by molecular biologist Na Yang, has discovered a possible explanation of how the same drug may cause different effects, depending upon which tissue it is acting, and how the natural hormone itself manages to adopt so many different guises, according to Science.