The nongenomic protective effects of estrogen on the male cardiovascular system: clinical and therapeutic implications in aging men.

Although the preponderance of studies investigating the effects of estrogen on vasomotor tone and function have focused on women, a number of recent studies have intriguingly shown that estrogen's rapid vasodilatory properties is also preserved in men. Unlike classical steroid transcription mediated pathways, estrogen's acute vasodilatory effect is mediated by calcium dependent cell surface estrogen receptors that stimulate constitutive endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity. The transient release of eNOS derived nitric oxide exerts profound physiological effects on the vasculature exerting a state of cellular inhibition (i.