Breast atrophy

Breast atrophy is the normal or spontaneous atrophy or shrinkage of the breasts.[1]

Breast atrophy
15th century sculpture depicting breast atrophy

Breast atrophy commonly occurs in women during menopause when estrogen levels decrease.[2][3][4] It can also be caused by hypoestrogenism and/or hyperandrogenism in women in general,[1] such as in antiestrogen treatment for breast cancer, in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS),[5][6] and in malnutrition such as that associated with eating disorders like anorexia nervosa or with chronic disease.[1][7][8] It can also be an effect of weight loss.[8][9]

In the treatment of gynecomastia in males and macromastia in women, and in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for trans men,[10] breast atrophy may be a desired effect.

Examples of treatment options for breast atrophy, depending on the situation/when appropriate, can include estrogens, antiandrogens, and proper nutrition or weight gain.

See also

References
  1. Prem Puri; Michael E. Höllwarth (28 May 2009). Pediatric Surgery: Diagnosis and Management. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 257–258. ISBN 978-3-540-69560-8.
  2. Melvin A. Shiffman (24 December 2009). Mastopexy and Breast Reduction: Principles and Practice. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 42–. ISBN 978-3-540-89873-3.
  3. Kristen A. Atkins; Christina Kong (29 October 2012). Practical Breast Pathology: A Diagnostic Approach: A Volume in the Pattern Recognition Series. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 67–. ISBN 978-1-4557-3340-8.
  4. Thomas J. Lawton (27 April 2009). Breast. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-0-521-88159-3.
  5. Ricardo Azziz (3 July 2007). The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Current Concepts on Pathogenesis and Clinical Care. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-0-387-69248-7.
  6. Susan Scott Ricci; Terri Kyle (2009). Maternity and Pediatric Nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 213–. ISBN 978-0-7817-8055-1.
  7. J.P. Lavery; J.S. Sanfilippo (6 December 2012). Pediatric and Adolescent Obstetrics and Gynecology. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 99–. ISBN 978-1-4612-5064-7.
  8. Julia A. McMillan; Ralph D. Feigin; Catherine DeAngelis; M. Douglas Jones (2006). Oski's Pediatrics: Principles & Practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 558–. ISBN 978-0-7817-3894-1.
  9. Cynthia Feucht; Donald E. Greydanus; Joav Merrick; Hatim A. Omar; Dilip R. Patel (2 April 2012). Pharmacotherapeutics in General, Mental and Sexual Health. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 287–. ISBN 978-3-11-025570-6.
  10. Merril D. Smith (8 September 2014). Cultural Encyclopedia of the Breast. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 121–. ISBN 978-0-7591-2332-8.


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