What is aromatase deficiency?

Aromatase deficiency is a condition characterized by reduced levels of the female sex hormone estrogen and increased levels of the male sex hormone testosterone.

What causes placental aromatase deficiency?

Aromatase deficiency results from autosomal recessive inheritance of mutations in the CYP19A1 gene. It gives rise to ambiguous genitalia in 46,XX fetuses. At puberty, affected girls have hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, do not develop secondary sexual characteristics, and exhibit progressive virilization.

What happens when aromatase is inhibited?

Aromatase inhibitors tend to cause fewer serious side effects than tamoxifen, such as blood clots, stroke, and endometrial cancer. But aromatase inhibitors can cause more heart problems, more bone loss (osteoporosis), and more broken bones than tamoxifen, at least for the first few years of treatment.

What is the function of aromatase?

Aromatase is an enzyme that converts androgens into estrogens, and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) can eliminate the production of estrogen. Furthermore, antiestrogens can bind to ER and antagonize its activity.

How do you know if you have aromatase deficiency?

In adulthood, symptoms include virilisation, absent of breast development, primary amenorrhea and infertility, and multicystic ovaries. Other symptoms include hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, polycystic ovaries, hypoplastic ovaries and tall stature.

How is aromatase deficiency treated?

Adult men should be treated immediately upon diagnosis: daily transdermal administration of up to 50 µg of estradiol (serum estradiol at 40 pg/ml) for 6-9 months to complete skeletal maturation. Upon epiphyseal closure, estradiol replacement may be reduced to 25 µg daily.

Which aromatase inhibitor is most effective?

In an early report, exemestane was significantly better than tamoxifen in response rate and median time to progression, with overall survival data not yet available. To date, letrozole appears to be the most effective aromatase inhibitor in the first-line advanced breast cancer setting.

Do females have aromatase?

Because ovarian estrogens are circulating at high concentrations in females, the study of the role of brain aromatase has been somewhat neglected in this sex. However, females express substantial amounts of active brain aromatase that is regulated in similar ways as in males.

Which aromatase inhibitor is best with least side effects?

Anastrozole, exemestane and letrozole are equally effective and have similar side effects [79,90-93]. However, you may tolerate one drug better than another. For a summary of research studies on aromatase inhibitors and early breast cancer, visit the Breast Cancer Research Studies section.

Is aromatase inhibitor better than tamoxifen?

5 years of an aromatase inhibitor reduces 10-year breast cancer mortality rates by about 15% compared with 5 years of tamoxifen, hence by about 40% (proportionately) compared with no endocrine treatment.

What foods are natural estrogen blockers?

Cruciferous Vegetables Packed within cruciferous veggies are phytochemicals that block the production of estrogen, allowing them to be an effective addition to an anti-estrogen diet. This group of vegetables includes kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and arugula.