| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1906412 | Experimental Gerontology | 2012 | 7 Pages |
Clinical studies suggest that aging may affect the neural outcome of estrogen therapy in postmenopausal women. In this study we have assessed whether age influences the behavioral outcome of estradiol therapy in rats. Animals were ovariectomized at 2 or 20 months of age. Immediately after ovariectomy animals were treated for 10 weeks with estradiol valerate or vehicle. Estradiol therapy decreased body weight in both young and older rats compared to animals injected with vehicle. In contrast, estradiol treatment improved object recognition memory and decreased anxiety-like behavior in the circular open field of older but not young rats and decreased depressive-like behavior of young but not older animals. Thus, our findings indicate that age affects the outcome of estradiol therapy in the brain.
► Estradiol reduced anxiety-like behavior in aged rats. ► Estradiol increased object recognition in aged rats. ► Estradiol decreased depressive-like behavior in young but not in aged rats. ► The age of the animals affects the outcome of estradiol therapy in brain.
