In vitro inhibition by estrogens of the oxidative modifications of human lipoproteins.

Estrogens exert protective actions against atherosclerosis, part of these effects having been ascribed to their antioxidant properties. The aim of this work was to assess the ability of estrogens to prevent the oxidative modifications of low density lipoproteins (LDL) and other plasma lipoprotein fractions whose relationship with atherosclerosis has been less studied. For this purpose, different estrogen compounds were used: natural and synthetic estrogens, and catecholestrogens.