Jan. 23, 2013 Estrogen levels drop dramatically in menopause, a
time when the risk of urinary tract infections increases
significantly. Researchers at Washington University School of
Medicine in St. Louis have found new evidence in mice that the
two phenomena are connected by more than just timing. If further
research confirms these links, boosting estrogen levels may get
a second look as an approach for reducing urinary infections in
menopausal women. "Scientists tested estrogen as a treatment for
post-menopausal women with urinary tract infections in the
1990s, but the results were either ambiguous or negative," says
senior author Indira Mysorekar, PhD, assistant professor of
obstetrics and gynecology and of pathology and immunology. "With
the mouse model of menopause that we've created, we can more
completely understand how estrogen levels affect infection
susceptibility, bladder health and the inflammatory response to
infection. That should point the way to better treatment
strategies." The findings appea