Bone scan reveals estrogen effects
By Nathan Seppa
From Chicago, Ill., at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America
There’s little debate among scientists that the female hormone estrogen is integral to maintaining strong bones. Osteoporosis, in which the bones become brittle, most commonly strikes women after menopause cuts their natural estrogen supply.
Using a scanning technology called microcomputerized tomography, or micro-CT, scientists have a new way to look at the difference between bone exposed to estrogen and bone deprived of it. Researchers are already starting to use micro-CT scans to test the effects of new drugs designed to duplicate estrogen’s bone-building power without its side effect of promoting cancer growth.