Abstract
Estrogen is essential in maintaining various physiological features in women, and a decline in estrogen levels are known to give rise to numerous unfortunate symptoms associated with menopause. To alleviate these symptoms hormone replacement therapy with estrogen is often used, and has been shown to be fruitful in improving quality of life in women suffering from postmenopausal discomforts. An often forgotten condition associated with menopause is the optic nerve disorder, glaucoma. Thus, estrogen may also have an impact in maintaining the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which make up the optic nerve, thereby preventing glaucomatous neurodegeneration. This review aims to provide an overview of possible associations of estrogen and the glaucoma subtype, primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), by evaluating the current literature through a PubMed-based literature search. Multiple in vitro and in vivo studies of RGC protection, as well as clinical and epidemiological data concerning the well-defined retinal neurodegenerative disorder POAG have been reviewed. Over all, deficiencies in retinal estrogen may potentially instigate RGC loss, visual disability, and eventual blindness. Estrogen replacement therapy may therefore be a beneficial future treatment. However, more studies are needed to confirm the relevance of estrogen in glaucoma prevention.
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The work is carried out as a part of the BRIDGE – Translational Excellence Programme (bridge.ku.dk) at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (Grant Agreement No. NNF18SA0034956).
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Conceptualization: RV; Methodology: KF and RV; Validation: BSVT and MK; Investigation: KF, BSVT, MK, and RV; Writing—original draft preparation: KF, BSVT, and RV; Writing—review and editing: MK and RV.
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Fotesko, K., Thomsen, B.S.V., Kolko, M. et al. Girl Power in Glaucoma: The Role of Estrogen in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma. Cell Mol Neurobiol 42, 41–57 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-020-00965-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-020-00965-5