Internal medicine

Inguinal canal

Androgen

Fibrosis

Atrophy

Cancer

Endocrinology

Urology

Surgery

Estrogen

Testicular atrophy

Inguinal hernia

Hernia

Breast cancer

Hormone

Medicine

Estrogen receptor

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance Inguinal hernia is one of the most common disorders that affect elderly men. A major pathology underlying inguinal hernia is the fibrosis and other degenerative changes that affect the lower abdominal muscle strength adjacent to the inguinal canal. Here we describe a critical role of estrogen and its nuclear receptor that enhance fibroblast proliferation and muscle atrophy, leading to inguinal hernia. Further research may reveal a potential role of estrogen ablation to prevent muscle fibrosis or hernia in a subset of elderly men.

Shift from androgen to estrogen action causes abdominal muscle fibrosis, atrophy, and inguinal hernia in a transgenic male mouse model