Side Effects
Nicotine increases blood pressure and heart rate in humans. Nicotine can stimulate abnormal proliferation of vascular endothelial cells, similar to that seen in atherosclerosis. Nicotine induces potentially atherogenic genes in human coronary artery endothelial cells. Nicotine could cause microvascular injury through its action on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), however other mechanisms are also likely at play.
A study on rats showed that nicotine exposure abolishes the beneficial and protective effects of estrogen on the hippocampus, an estrogen-sensitive region of the brain involved in memory formation and retention.
Read more about this topic: Nicotine
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