Potential nuances in renoprotective properties of estrogen in females.

A current study by Kitai et al. found that ovariectomy before estrogen/female sex hormone sensitization at puberty provided protection against kidney ischemia reperfusion injury, challenging the general consensus within the field that estrogen provides renoprotective function. These results are intriguing and could have important clinical implications, while requiring some clarification and substantiation of the conclusions reported.