New Delhi: The amount of nicotine in a cigarette prevents women’s brains from producing estrogen. This may explain a number of behavioral differences among smokers, including the reason that women are more resistant to quitting than men. The ECNP Congress in Vienna will mark the beginning of this work.
Lead researcher, Associate Professor Erika Komasko (Uppsala University, Sweden), said: “For the first time, we can see that nicotine acts to shut down the estrogen production mechanism in women’s brains. We were surprised to see this effect. Could also be seen with a single dose of nicotine, the equivalent of just one cigarette, showing how much of an effect smoking has on a woman’s brain. This is a newly discovered effect, and it’s still early work. We are still not sure what the behavioral or cognitive consequences are; only nicotine acts on this area of the brain, however, we note that the affected brain system is a target for addictive drugs, such as nicotine”.
The thalamus, part of the brain region of the limbic system, has demonstrated the effect. This system is involved in regulating behavior and emotions.
Ten healthy female volunteers took part in the study, with the help of researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden. In addition to receiving intranasal doses of nicotine from a commercial source, the women received an injection of a radioactive tracer bound to an enzyme called aromatase, also known as estrogen synthase, which binds to estrogen. Aromatase is the enzyme that produces estrogen. The researchers were able to visualize the amount of aromatase present in the brain as well as its location, using MRI and PET brain images. The researchers found that a single dose slightly reduced brain-based aromatase levels.
It has long been believed that men and women react differently to nicotine, with women being more resistant to NRT and more likely than men to try to quit smoking. However, it is not clear which biological factors led to these variations. This is the first instance where aromatase production has been disrupted in humans. The effect on people was not investigated.
Professor Comasco continued “This finding leads us to believe that nicotine’s effect on estrogen production has a significant effect on the brain, but perhaps also on other functions such as the reproductive system – we don’t know yet. What are important are men and women.” Differences in how women respond to smoking We now need to understand whether this action of nicotine on the hormonal system is involved in any of these responses.”
Commenting, Professor Wim van den Brink, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Addiction at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, said: “This is a really important first finding. Smoking has many adverse effects on men and women, but not in women. This particular effect of nicotine on the reduction in estrogen production was not previously known. However, it should be noted that tobacco addiction is a complex disorder with many contributing factors. It is unlikely that the thalamus (and estrogen production) This specific effect of nicotine on estrogen production explains all the observed differences in development, treatment and outcomes between male and female smokers. The negative effects and relapse in female cigarette smokers go a long way, but this work deserves further investigation”.
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