• Agora
  • Eioc Mededge
  • Holistic Health 2025 MedEdge
MedEdge MEA MedEdge_Logo_Dark

Public Relations, Top Health Magazine and Healthcare News GCC

  • Newsletters
  • Magazines
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Interviews
  • Featured
  • Cover Stories
  • Events
  • Health For all
    • Ageing Gracefully
    • Family Health Matters
    • Environment Health
    • Women and Child Health
    • Men’s Health
  • Resource Hub
    • Fresh Perspectives
    • Medical Tourism
    • Medical Education
    • Personnel
    • Research
      • Healthcare Journals & Publishers
    • Healthcare Campaigns
    • Health Tools Hub
    • Dubai Health Centers Directory | Services, Locations & Timings
Reading: Study Links Female Sex Hormones to Progression of Eye Disease
Share
Notification
  • Agora
  • Eioc Mededge
  • Holistic Health 2025 MedEdge
MedEdge MEA
  • Magazines
  • Newsletters
  • Profiles
  • Subscribe
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Interviews
  • Featured
  • Cover Stories
  • Events
  • Health For all
    • Ageing Gracefully
    • Family Health Matters
    • Environment Health
    • Women and Child Health
    • Men’s Health
  • Resource Hub
    • Fresh Perspectives
    • Medical Tourism
    • Medical Education
    • Personnel
    • Research
    • Healthcare Campaigns
    • Health Tools Hub
    • Dubai Health Centers Directory | Services, Locations & Timings
Have an existing account? Sign In
MedEdge MEA > Health For All > Women and Child Health > Study Links Female Sex Hormones to Progression of Eye Disease
Women and Child Health

Study Links Female Sex Hormones to Progression of Eye Disease

ME Desk
ME Desk
Published: July 9, 2025
Share
3 Min Read
Eye Disease
SHARE

Female sex hormones can significantly enhance the progression of the rare neurodegenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP), according to a preclinical study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The findings, published in Science Advances, may lead to therapeutics to slow progression of the disease and help clinicians assess the risk of hormone therapies for female patients with genetic markers for the disease. 

“Retinitis pigmentosa is a commonly inherited form of vision loss that was previously thought to be unaffected by biological sex,” explained Katherine Wert, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at UT Southwestern. “We discovered we can actually slow disease progression in female mice if we deplete their sex hormones.”

Also Read: WHO issues first global guideline to improve pregnancy care for women with sickle cell disease

The researchers studied male and female mice with a mutation in rhodopsin (RHO P23H) – a key light-sensing protein in the retina – that causes the development of retinitis pigmentosa. At 2 months of age, they found the layer of photoreceptors in the females’ retinas had significantly worse function than in males, indicating faster vision loss and a sex-related difference in disease progression.

In females spayed to reduce sex hormone levels, Dr. Wert said the team was surprised to see reduced RP progression, to the point that their vision was comparable to that of males. Neutered males showed no change in visual function compared to intact males. Similarly, artificially increasing sex hormone levels in neutered mice by implanting estradiol under their skin had no effect on males but resulted in increased loss of function in the photoreceptors of females.  

In contrast, the vision of healthy mice without the RHO P23H mutation remained unchanged after they received female sex hormones, indicating an interaction between the rhodopsin mutation and sex hormones, causing higher levels of inflammation and cell death in females. 

Ashley Rowe, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student in Dr. Wert’s laboratory, noted that the team’s research warrants further investigation regarding the potential impact of hormonal therapy in women with related retinal conditions. The authors emphasized that there is currently no evidence that birth control and hormone replacement therapy adversely affect vision in women without genetic mutations associated with retinitis pigmentosa.

“We’re not advocating for depleting women’s hormones,” Ms. Rowe said. “But this discovery opens exciting opportunities to understand the underlying mechanisms leading to worsened disease outcomes in women, which could lead to transformative future therapeutic strategies for both women and men living with RP.” 

Other UTSW researchers who contributed to the study are Jeffrey McDonald, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Genetics; Mauricio Velasquez, B.S., a Senior Analytical Chemist in the Center for Human Nutrition and the McDonald Lab; and Wert Lab members Jacob Aumeier, medical student, and Tiffany Yee and Emily Nettesheim, Ophthalmology doctoral students.

Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Copy Link
Share
Previous Article UV-Blocking Why Wearing UV-Blocking Sunglasses Is Essential for Eye Health
Next Article Maie-St.-John Maie St. John Named Director of Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Recent Posts

  • Emirates Health Services Participates in Drug Prevention Forum 2025
  • Abu Dhabi Concludes Fourth Consecutive U.S. Mission Further Reinforcing Global Healthcare Leadership
  • WHO welcomes IMF support to Jordan for pandemic preparedness and response
  • Achieving Smart Safety Monitoring: Navigating Risks in Today’s Complex Trials
  • UCSF Health Recognized for Treatment of Rare Kidney Stone Disease
  • LifeSpin
  • Health ExpoIraq
  • Agora
  • Holistic Health Middle East
  • Holistic Health Middle East MedEdge
  • GHE square advert MedEdge
Two Point Five Logo white
  • About Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Submit Your Story
  • Contact Us
  • MediaKit
Reading: Study Links Female Sex Hormones to Progression of Eye Disease
Share

Published by Two Point Five Media FZCO

  • About Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Submit Your Story
  • Contact Us
  • MediaKit
Reading: Study Links Female Sex Hormones to Progression of Eye Disease
Share

Follow US on Social Media

Facebook Instagram Linkedin X-twitter Youtube Whatsapp

WhatsApp us

Logo of Medede mea
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?