Bone scan reveals estrogen effects

From Chicago, Ill., at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America

There’s little debate among scientists that the female hormone estrogen is integral to maintaining strong bones. Osteoporosis, in which the bones become brittle, most commonly strikes women after menopause cuts their natural estrogen supply.

Using a scanning technology called microcomputerized tomography, or micro-CT, scientists have a new way to look at the difference between bone exposed to estrogen and bone deprived of it.