Male hormones can ward off cardiac damage

SYDNEY - Male hormones may ward off damage to the heart by helping vessels around the organ regenerate, says a new report.

While studies have shown that oestrogen helps blood vessels regenerate, both in the uterus after menstruation and around the heart after wear and tear, little is known about whether or not men make up for a lack of the female hormone.

Some researchers have theorised that this disparity accounts for why men tend to suffer worse heart attacks more often and earlier in life than women.

However, D Sieveking from the University of New South Wales and colleagues find that this trend may be due to a drop in androgens, a collective term for male hormones, as men age.

Cells derived from the umbilical cord of a human male foetus responded to androgens by

moving and multiplying-activities associated with new vessel growth.

Furthermore, castrated mice, which produced fewer androgens, fared poorly after the researchers inflicted vessel damage intended to resemble injuries that occur during a heart attack or a stroke, says an UNSW release.

And treating the castrated mice with androgens hastened their recovery. Therefore, the authors suggest that androgen replacement therapy might one day be used to treat men at risk for heart disease.

These findings were published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.