Just In
- 52 min ago April Fool's Day 2024: Strange And Unusual Pranks That Were Pulled Off On 1st April
- 5 hrs ago Daily Horoscope, 29 March 2024: Gemini Businessmen Should Be Careful, Leo May Not Feel Well Today
- 10 hrs ago Aditi Rao Hydari's 8 Tips for Glowing Skin: A Celebrity Skincare Routine Unveiled, Bonus Tips Included!
- 10 hrs ago April 2024 Health Horoscope: Know How This Month Will Affect Zodiac Signs In Terms Of Wellness
Don't Miss
- Movies Crew Box Office Collection: Hit or Flop, Budget; Everything To Know About Kareena, Kriti & Tabu’s Heist Comedy
- News Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge Launches Counter Attack On PM Modi With These Four Questions
- Automobiles Tata Motors Teams Up with Hindustan Petroleum to Expand India's EV Charging Infrastructure
- Finance RBI Declares Temporary Unavailability Of Exchange/Deposit Of Rs 2,000 Banknotes
- Technology Elon Musk Announces Free Premium Features for Select X Users - Get All the Details Here
- Sports Sanju Samson's tactic leaves Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly fuming during RR vs DC IPL 2024 Match 9
- Education RSMSSB Junior Instructor Recruitment 2024; Apply online for 2500 Posts, Check out for more details
- Travel Explore Tamil Nadu's Diverse Wedding Venues
Progesterone May Help Fight Flu Complications, Says Study
A female sex hormone, found in most forms of hormone-based birth control pills, has the potential to ward off complications arising from influenza infection as well as helping damaged lung cells to heal more quickly, a recent study has revealed.
The study, conducted in mice, found that hormone progesterone was protective against the more serious effects of the flu by increasing the production of a protein called amphiregulin by the cells lining the lungs.
Progesterone not only lessened the inflammation and damage associated with the flu, but it also helped induce cellular repair, says a study. [1]
"Understanding the role that progesterone appears to play in repairing lung cells could really be important for women's health," said lead author Sabra L. Klein, Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in the US.
"When women go on birth control, they don't generally think about the health implications beyond stopping ovulation and it's important to consider them," Klein added.
When female mice (and possibly humans) get sick with the flu, their natural levels of progesterone fall.
Women on hormonal contraceptives -- be it a birth control pill, intrauterine device (IUD) or injection -- get a steadier level of progesterone which overrides what the ovaries make naturally or what the virus takes away during infection, the researchers observed.
The findings suggest that sex hormones have an effect far beyond the reproductive system and that hormone progesterone may one day be a viable flu treatment for women.
More than 100 million young adult women around the world are on progesterone-based contraception, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
And women of reproductive age are twice as likely than men to suffer from complications related to the influenza virus.
"Despite the staggering number of women who take this kind of birth control, very few studies are out there that evaluate the impact of contraceptives on how the body responds to infections beyond sexually-transmitted diseases," Klein noted.
WHO has already listed hormonal contraceptives as an essential medication because of the profound benefits these compounds can have on women's health by widening the interval between pregnancies, including decreased rates of maternal mortality and improved outcomes for babies and children.
For the study, the team placed progesterone implants in female mice and left other mice, also female, without.
The mice were then, infected with influenza A virus. Both sets of mice became ill, but those which had the implants had less pulmonary inflammation, better lung function and saw the damage to their lung cells repaired more quickly.
Klein says there is no scientific data to date showing whether progesterone in humans has any relationship to flu severity.
"We really want to understand from a therapeutic sense how this could potentially work in humans to keep women from experiencing complications from the flu," Klein stated in the paper, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.
Inputs From IANS
- diet fitnessInternational Day of Yoga 2022: Safe And Effective Yoga Poses For Thyroid Problems
- disorders cureWhat Is Serotonin Syndrome? Causes, Symptoms, Complications And Treatments
- wellness17 Foods That May Help Increase Oxytocin Levels Naturally
- wellnessKnow From A Nutritionist About Hormones: Your Body’s Social Network
- wellnessIs Hormone Therapy Safe For Women With Migraine?
- wellnessDoes Intermittent Fasting Boost Testosterone
- healthHormone Therapy May Increase Risk Of Hearing Loss In Menopausal Women
- disorders cure7 Best Tips To Keep Your Hormones Under Control, Naturally!
- wellnessPostmenopausal Hormone Therapy May Increase Hearing Loss Risk
- wellness10 Ways To Stay Healthy After 40
- wellnessWhat Is Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency?
- wellnessWhat Causes Female Stress?