Aging gonadal hormones

Optimal management of the postmenopausal patient requires careful assessment of her symptoms as well as consideration of her age and the presence of (or risks for) cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, breast cancer, and endometrial cancer. Bearing in mind the effects of the gonadal hormones on each of these disorders, the goals of therapy can then be defined and the risks of therapy assessed and discussed with the patient. 

Thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary hormones are known to influence copper metabolism indirectly, presumably by reducing its biliary excretion, whereas hormones of the gonads, particularly estrogen, increase ceruloplasmin by synthesizing the protein in a manner that is independent of copper concentration in the liver (103), Our own observations on the relationship of hormones and ultratrace-metals metabolism will be mentioned later in this review. SuflBce it to say that aging and its influence on mineral metabolism in general may be mediated through altered hormonal activity. 

Wong, C-C., K-D. Dohler, H. Geerlings, and A. von zur Muhlen. 1983. Influence of age, strain and season on circadian periodicity, gonadal and adrenal hormones in the serum of male laboratory rats. Hormone Research 17 202-215. 

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