Introductory Chapter: A Multidisciplinary Look at Menopause

The Aqueous Crude Extracts of Montanoa frutescens and Montanoa grandiflora Reduce Immobility Faster Than Fluoxetine Through GABAA Receptors in Rats Forced to Swim

“…The administration of picrotoxin, a noncompetitive antagonist that block chloride ion channels of this receptor, 56 , 57 blocked the reduction of immobility produced by Montanoa frutescens and Montanoa grandiflora extracts, but lacked an effect on the reduction of immobility provoked either by fluoxetine or by Hypericum perforatum extracts, as previously reported. 9 Thus, results suggest that the protective effects of the extracts of Montanoa plants against the stress induced by the forced swim test are mediated through GABA A receptor chloride ion channels and are not completely comparable to the typical effects of antidepressant drugs as fluoxetine, but in contrast a protective effect against the stress-induced behavioral changes produced by these extracts could be suggested. In line with this notion, the concept of “protective effect against the stress-induced behavioral changes” is referred to the property of some substances (ie, neurosteroids) to prevent the development of behavioral changes associated with the exposure of animals to physical stressors.…”

“…Nowadays, Hypericum perforatum is used at clinical level exerting anxiolytic and antidepressant effects in humans, 4 – 6 with probed effects on animal models similar to fluoxetine and other clinically effective antidepressant drugs. 7 – 9 Nonetheless, long-term use is limited by some severe side effects. 10 …”

New Developments in Behavioral Pharmacology

“…Preclinical research with laboratory animals has made possible identify the behavioral and emotional changes associated with a reduced concentration of steroid hormones when rats are undergoing to an extirpation of both ovaries (i.e., ovariectomy), which increases vulnerability to stress that can be reverted by injection of severe doses of estradiol [22]. The long-term ovariectomy (> 8 weeks post-ovariectomy) is considered then as a surgical menopause model that explores the behavioral, neurobiological, emotional and affective changes associated with oophorectomy that occurs in women [98]. In the long-term ovariectomized rats display higher anxiety-and depression-like behavior in experimental models such as elevated plus maze and forced swim test, respectively.…”

Social inequalities and prevalence of depressive symptoms: a cross-sectional study of women in a Mexican border city, 2014

“…The prevalence of depression is higher among women than it is among men (1), a disparity reported in diverse regions, cultures, and social contexts (14). While depression in women might be partly due to biological factors (6,7,9), gender inequities regarding power and access to resources and the differential valuation of female identity likely explain the depression gender-gap (15). However, not all women are equally disadvantaged.…”