At the Albany College of Pharmacy, researchers have found that estrogen supplementation to ovariectomized rabbits restored smooth muscle contractility. The results are published in the May edition of Neurology and Urodynamics. From the abstract:
Ovx resulted in significantly decreased bladder contractile function, whereas bladders tested after estradiol administration showed increased contractility. Ovx resulted in a decrease in SM/collagen ratio, whereas estrogen resulted in an increase.
The present study demonstrates that estrogen supplementation mediates a “functional hypertrophy,” that is a hypertrophy characterized by increased contractile responses to all forms of stimulation, and an increased ratio of SM/collagen.