Estrogen

Estrogens are a family of related molecules that stimulate the development and maintenance of female characteristics and sexual reproduction.

What is Estrogen?

Estrogens (also called Oestrogens) are steroid compounds that are important for development and functioning of females of the species. They are named so because they play an important role in the estrous cycle. Their name comes from estrus/oistros (period of fertility for female mammals) + gen/gonos = to generate.

Estrogen in Cosmetics

The Role of Estrogen in Men’s Health

Estrogen Function

Estrogen Types

Estradiol and Estrogen Levels

Estrogen in Medicine

Latest Estrogen News and Research

Active birth control pills may increase emotional eating

Combined oral contraceptives are associated with increased emotional eating, suggesting hormonal effects on eating behaviors and potential binge eating risks.

9 Jul 2026

Paternal postpartum depression affects more fathers than widely recognized

Postpartum depression in mothers is a widely recognized condition that affects 1 in 7 women. But less known is that 1 in 10 new fathers also experience depression.

8 Jul 2026

New nonhormonal therapy shows promise for treating Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz have developed a promising nonhormonal therapy for women experiencing Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM).

7 Jul 2026

Hormonal contraceptives may raise binge eating risk in women

Birth control pills are safe and effective for millions of women, but researchers are still working to understand how the hormones they contain may influence eating behavior.

6 Jul 2026

Blood biomarker may predict Alzheimer's progression differently in men

A blood test does not lie, exactly. It reports a number. The question raised by a new mini-review in Brain Medicine, which gathers and weighs a decade of scattered findings, is whether clinicians have been reading the same number in two different ways without realizing it.

30 Jun 2026

Longer hormone exposure linked to healthier brain aging in women

Research indicates that hormonal therapies and later menopause are associated with increased brain volume and thickness, promoting healthier aging.

26 Jun 2026

Gut microbes emerge as potential players in estrogen-driven cancers

A new review maps how the endocrine-microbiome axis expands the estrobolome concept, showing that gut microbes may alter estrogen recycling, produce hormone-like metabolites, and shape inflammation and tissue environments in hormone-driven cancers. Human evidence remains mostly associative, so the authors call for causal models, longitudinal multi-omics, multi-kingdom profiling, and sex-stratified studies before microbiome-guided cancer strategies enter routine care.

25 Jun 2026

Recognizing perinatal heart failure early reduces life-threatening risks

Early detection and timely treatment of heart failure in pregnant or postpartum women are crucial to prevent serious complications, such as irregular heartbeat, stroke and death, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement, "Heart Failure Occurring in the Perinatal Period."

25 Jun 2026

Immunotherapy may help women with early ovarian insufficiency to conceive babies

A pilot study from Karolinska Institutet shows that immunotherapy may enable stimulation of egg maturation in women with autoimmune POI (premature ovarian insufficiency) – a condition that usually leads to infertility.

24 Jun 2026

Study compares menopause symptom burden across different age groups

There has been a lot of discussion about how the age at menopause can affect menopause symptoms. A new study compared the prevalence and severity of menopause symptoms in women experiencing menopause around the average age of 51 years and those with premature ovarian insufficiency, showing similar symptom burden in the psychological and urogenital domains.

24 Jun 2026

Eating 90 g of wholegrains daily linked to lower breast cancer risk

Research indicates that long-term wholegrain intake per Nordic guidelines is associated with reduced breast cancer risk, emphasizing food type differences.

24 Jun 2026

Scientists unlock molecular structure of key protein linked to cancer, neurological diseases

After nearly four decades of research, Mayo Clinic scientists have revealed the molecular structures of protein kinase C beta (PKCβ), a key protein linked to cancer and neurological diseases.

23 Jun 2026

Lifetime estrogen exposure linked to improved brain health in women

Researchers from the University of Kansas have shown a link between reproductive hormone exposure throughout life and brain health in 459 women aged 65 to 80.

23 Jun 2026

The menstrual cycle changes heart-rate variability but not strength

Menstrual cycle phases influence heart autonomic regulation, showing HRV variations, yet muscle performance and mood states remain largely unchanged.

23 Jun 2026

Oral contraceptive pills may increase binge eating in some women

A new study from Michigan State University found increases in binge eating when taking hormone pills in the form of oral contraceptives - but not in all women.

17 Jun 2026

Higher BMI raises risk for 19 cancers as global review expands the obesity-cancer link

A major systematic review and meta-analysis links higher BMI to increased risk of 19 cancer types, including leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, bladder cancer, and glioma, which were not previously recognized in major consensus reports. The study also reveals regional and sex-based variation in cancer risk, with genetic evidence generally supporting many observational links while highlighting the need for more diverse global cohorts.

17 Jun 2026

Hormone cycles dictate how the brain absorbs neuroprotective drugs

Consider what we ask of a clinical trial. We gather people who differ in nearly every way that matters, we give them the same drug at the same dose, and then we average the result and call the average truth.

16 Jun 2026

Study maps biological pathways of weed killer during pregnancy

Exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in many weed killers, was linked to changes in several hormones that support pregnancy and fetal development-in one of the few studies to examine how a widely used herbicide may affect the body during pregnancy. The results come from a new study led by University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers.

16 Jun 2026

Fluctuating hormones during menopause reshape brain activity patterns

Research at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont reveals how menopause, once a taboo topic, affects brain function, reinforcing the idea that the menopause transition is not only a reproductive milestone, but also a critical neurological phase.

9 Jun 2026

Study links menstrual cycle timing to COVID vaccine side effects

A study of 1,474 Clue app users found that women vaccinated against COVID-19 during the follicular phase had higher odds of self-reported side effects than those vaccinated during the luteal phase.

8 Jun 2026