Estrogen Source of Stress Background: Stress-related disorders
such as depression occur twice as often in women than in men.
The question is what accounts for this big difference between
men and women? Study: Male and female rats were exposed to
different levels of stress. Their estrogen levels were also
determined. Since depression is difficult to determine in rats,
their ability to function was determined with a short-term
memory task. It turned out that even mild levels of stress
(which had no effect on male rats) affected female rats when
their estrogen levels were elevated. This goes along with a
previous study (reported by the same researchers last fall) in
which females rats with their ovaries removed showed increased
stress sensitivity only after they were given estrogen
replacement. Comments: Can these observations in rats be
extrapolated to women dealing with stress and depression? Are
these findings relevant to women who have been or who are taking
hormone therapy? Estrogen Makes the Brain More Vul