纽约（路透社健康版），12月11日－瑞典调查人员发现血中雌二醇水平是男性颈动脉内膜增厚的独立预测因子。
有证据显示雌激素可以保护女性使之不得心脏病。可是，研究人员在临床内分泌及代谢病杂志的11月版发表的一项研究中指出：雌激素治疗前列腺癌与男性患动脉粥样硬化危险性增加有关。
Goteborg 大学的Asa Tivesten博士及其同事前瞻性调查了313名男性白人，这些人注册在动脉粥样硬化和胰岛素抵抗研究中。调查人群的基线平均年龄是58岁，平均跟踪调查3年。调查开始时受试者没有心血管或其他方面疾病的征兆。
研究人员用超声来检测颈动脉内膜中层厚度，还记录了一些心血管危险因素，包括体重指数，腰臀比，收缩压，血清甘油三酯，血浆C肽水平和吸烟情况。此外，还测定了血清性激素水平。
Tivesten博士及其同事报道每年内膜中层厚度会增加3.32微米，研究小组发现，总E2（estradiol）和游离E2 （estradiol）的基线水平都与每年内膜中层厚度的改变正相关。
研究人员写到：“一直以来大家都相信内生雌激素可以保护女性免得心血管疾病，而且这个假说都已经延伸到了男性”。但是，这项大规模的前瞻性调查“通过评价一群先前明显健康中年人的颈动脉内膜中层厚度，证明了游离E2是颈动脉粥样硬化的强预测因子。”
Circulating estradiol associated with carotid artery wall thickening in men
12/11/2006
By: Reuters Health
http://www.auntminnie.com/index.asp?Sec=sup&Sub=ult&Pag=dis&ItemId=73933
NEW YORK (Reuters Health), Dec 11 - Swedish investigators have found that circulating estradiol levels are an independent predictor of carotid artery intima-media thickening in men.
Evidence shows that estrogen protects against heart disease in women. However, estrogen treatment of prostate cancer is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis in men, the researchers point out in a study published in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Dr. Asa Tivesten and colleagues at Goteborg University prospectively followed 313 white men enrolled in the Atherosclerosis and Insulin Resistance Study. Mean age at baseline was 58 years and mean follow-up was three years. Subjects had no signs of cardiovascular or other diseases at baseline.
Carotid artery intima-media thickness was measured by ultrasound at baseline. Cardiovascular risk factors, including body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, systolic blood pressure, serum triglycerides, plasma c-peptide levels, and smoking status were recorded. In addition, serum sex hormone levels were measured.
Dr. Tivesten and colleagues report that the mean intima-media thickness increased by 3.32 micrometers per year. "Both total and free E2 (estradiol) levels at baseline were positively associated with the annual change in intima-media thickness," the team found.
"The dominant belief has long been that endogenous estrogens are protective from cardiovascular disease in females, and this hypothesis has been extended to males as well," the researchers write. However, this large prospective study "demonstrates that circulating E2 is a strong predictor of carotid artery atherosclerosis, as estimated by carotid intima-media thickness in a cohort of apparently healthy, middle-aged men."
Last Updated: 2006-12-07 15:33:03 -0400 (Reuters Health)
J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006;91:4433-4437.
编辑：蓝色幻想
