Ovariectomy, a model of menopause in rodents, causes a premature aging of the nervous and immune systems

Ovariectomy in rodents is a good model for mimicking human ovarian hormone loss. This work studies the consequences of ovariectomy on the nervous and immune systems in the context of biological aging. Ovariectomy accelerates the process of aging by impairing the sensorimotor abilities (with loss of muscular vigor and impaired equilibrium and traction capacities) and the exploratory capacities (with reduction of vertical exploratory activity). It also leads to a premature immunosenescence with regard to chemotaxis index, lymphoproliferative response and natural killer activity, parameters investigated in the spleen and axillary nodes. Therefore, ovariectomy deteriorates homeostasis and may be a model of premature aging. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.