women smoker

Recent research shows, women tend to find it more difficult to stop smoking than men. It is assumed, it is because women's brains tend to respond to nicotine differently.

When a person inhale cigarette smoke, the nicotine receptors in the brain - which bind to nicotine and smoking reinforces - is expected to increase. The study found that male smokers have more nicotine receptors than female smokers. But surprisingly, female smokers appeared to have the same amount of nicotine receptors such as women who do not smoke."When you look at it based on gender (sex), you will see there is a big difference," said the researcher, Kelly Cosgrove, assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine.

During this time, smokers who are trying to quit will usually nicotine replacement therapy, such as nicotine patches and gum. But according to Cosgrove, female smokers would benefit more if the treatment of therapy without the use of nicotine, but with behavioral therapies, such as exercise or relaxation techniques. Women, continued Cosgrove, tend to want to smoke just to smell the cigarette smoke or holding a cigarette than men.Nicotine receptor sitesIn penelitianya, Cosgrove and his team did brain scans on 52 men and 58 women, in which about half of them were smokers. The researchers examined the nicotine receptors in the brain using a radioactive marker that binds an essential part of the receptor - responsible for physical dependence on nicotine or body.

Previously, smokers in this study have been asked to stop smoking for a week so that the nicotine receptor binding may be freely used as imaging markers.

The study results showed that male smokers had about a 16 percent or more of the nicotine receptors in their brain area known as the striatum, 17 percent more in the cerebellum, and 13-17 percent more in the region of the cortex, or outer layer of the brain than female smokers. On the other hand, female smokers have the same amount of nicotine receptors in the brain, both in women smokers and nonsmokers.

Meanwhile, Dr. Len Horovitz, pulmonary specialist from Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, claimed to agree to further focus the attention of non-nicotine therapy for smokers who want to quit. Horovitz said do not know exactly why women are more difficult to quit smoking than men, but he suspects it may have something to do with the level of the hormone progesterone.

Horovitz argues, levels of the hormone progesterone in a woman's body fluctuates depending on the stage of the menstrual cycle. The numbers also tended to increase after ovulation. The study found that high levels of progesterone have been associated with the amount of nicotine resptor lower. This suggests, progesterone could indirectly inhibit nicotine receptors.

source : kompas.com