Modeling menopause and dementia in rodents: Investigations on cognition and coordination

Along with aging come its consequences, such as an increase in dementia. Dementia is a group of diseases that usually starts at 60 years old, affects the neurons, and causes cognitive disorders. It is more common in women, supposedly because of the lack of estrogen action in the brain after menopause. By simulating menopause in rodents, it is possible to create an animal model. The first and well-established model in the literature is the ovariectomy (OVX) animal model. It consists of surgically removing both ovaries and, after that, testing the lack of estrogen and changes in the animal behavior, simulating dementia. Many advances in diagnosis and treatment were made through this model in the last 50 years or so, including breakthroughs in how estrogen works in the human brain and other human body organs. Other animal menopause models were developed and are being developed to study dementia and menopause, so in the future, new discoveries can be made, and new treatments can be developed.