Estrogen therapy increases BDNF expression and improves post-stroke depression in ovariectomy-treated rats

Qiaoer Su, Yifan Cheng, Kunlin Jin, Jianhua Cheng, Yuanshao Lin, Zhenzhen Lin, Liuqing Wang, Bei Shao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present study investigated the effect of exogenous estrogen on post-stroke depression. Rats were exposed to chronic mild stress following middle cerebral artery occlusion. The occurrence of post-stroke depression was evaluated according to the changes in preference for sucrose and performance in a forced swimming test. Estrogen therapy significantly improved these neurological symptoms, indicating that estrogen is effective in treating post-stroke depression. Increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression was reported in the hippocampus of rats that had been treated with estrogen for two weeks, suggesting that BDNF expression may be an important contributor to the improvement of post-stroke depression that is observed following estrogen therapy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1843-1848
Number of pages6
JournalExperimental and Therapeutic Medicine
Volume12
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2016

Keywords

  • Animal behavior
  • Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
  • Estrogen
  • Hippocampus
  • Post-stroke depression

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