In studies on rats, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists report new evidence that the predominance of the hormone testosterone in males may explain why women are up to 10 times more likely than men to injure the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in their knees.
Specifically, they found that normal male rats with natural supplies of testosterone had stronger ACLs than those that had been castrated and no longer produced the hormone. The results are described online in the journal The Knee.
"The primary implication of the study is that testosterone may contribute to the ACL's ability to withstand tensile loads and may be one of multiple factors response for the disparate ACL injury rate between men and women," says William Romani, Ph.D.
