Testosterone shows nerve-protecting capabilities

[MSUK]

Testosterone shows nerve-protecting capabilities in mice with MS-like disease



Researchers funded by the National MS Society have shown that the male sex hormone testosterone prevented or restored impairments in nerve impulse transmission in mice with EAE, an MS-like disease.

The improvements specifically occurred in an area of the brain associated with cognitive function, lending evidence to the potential for the future use of sex hormones to treat this MS symptom. This team is currently conducting clinical trials to determine whether estriol (another sex hormone, added on to standard therapies) improves disease activity and cognition in women with MS. Rhonda Voskuhl, MD (University of California, Los Angeles) and colleagues report their findings in The Journal of Neuroscience (2012;32:12312).... Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... ageid/3524

[Leonard]

This article suggests the influence of testosterone on the health of endothelial cells and its vasodilatory effects:
http://www.pnas.org/content/99/6/4055.full.pdf
A higher level of testosterone in the blood is probably associated with a lower risk of getting MS.
I think that it is this hormone that explains the difference between men and women, although obviously that is only one factor...

As regards the article in the above posting, although of course I don't agree with the EAE concept as such, my explanation here is that both for MS/impaired glucose metabolism and for EAE, the vasodilatory effects of testosterone improve the nutritional condition of cells in the endothelium/lymphatic system and hence provide nerve protection.

You may find a broader highly consistent picture on related issues on http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... 8-330.html

[jimmylegs]

article title: Testosterone attenuates expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 by conversion to estradiol by aromatase in endothelial cells: Implications in atherosclerosis