Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Inflammatory Changes after Ovariectomy and Estradiol Substitution in Hereditary Hypertriglyceridemic Rats.

Background: If menopause is really independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease is still under debate. We studied if ovariectomy in the model of insulin resistance causes cardiovascular changes, to what extent are these changes reversible by estradiol substitution and if they are accompanied by changes in other organs and tissues.

Methods: Hereditary hypertriglyceridemic female rats were divided into three groups: ovariectomized at 8th week ( = 6), ovariectomized with 17-β estradiol substitution ( = 6), and the sham group ( = 5).