What is selective estrogen receptor modulator?

Selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) is a compound activated by 17 β - estradiol and acting on hormone receptor Selective estrogen receptor modulators are active in many tissues of the body, making them slow down the effect of estrogen to a large extent In some cases, selective estrogen receptor modulators can also act as agonists - compounds that induce certain biological reactions by binding to receptors In other cases, selective estrogen receptor modulators act as antagonists - molecules that inhibit responses by binding to receptors Depending on the specific tissue type found, selective estrogen receptor molecules can act as agonists or antagonists Estrogen is a very important compound whose main function is female sex hormone They play different roles, ranging from maintaining mental health to maintaining a balance of water, sodium and other substances in the body Because estrogen is needed to keep healthy, its imbalance will cause health problems such as breast cancer and osteoporosis Many forms of breast cancer depend on a stable supply of estrogen to grow and spread, while osteoporosis is usually caused by a lack of estrogen It is common to treat these two diseases by using selective estrogen receptor modulators Tamoxifen, for example, is a selective estrogen receptor modulator that acts as an estrogen receptor antagonist in breast tissue Therefore, tamoxifen treatment can significantly delay the development of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer It works by blocking receptor sites in breast tissue that are normally activated by estrogen Tamoxifen also has a beneficial side effect of acting as an activator of bone tissue It can be used to resist osteoporosis, because it can promote the increase of bone density The use of selective estrogen receptor modulators in the treatment process can lead to some side effects, because they play the role of agonists or antagonists in different parts of the body Although a specific selective estrogen receptor modulator can prevent one cancer, it may also promote the development of another cancer In addition, they also have an unstable impact on people's mental health, because they affect the amount of estrogen in the whole body, which is very important for maintaining mental health.