The perimenopausal transition is often associated with hot flushes, sleep disruption, metabolic changes and other symptoms. The mechanisms are incompletely understood, but both ageing and a loss of ovarian oestrogens play contributing roles. The timing and length of oestradiol treatment pose key clinical questions in the management of symptoms.

Yin et al. explored the effect of timing of oestradiol interventions in curtailing menopausal symptoms. Using a rat model of mechanically induced menopause, induced in either reproductively mature (4-month-old) or ageing (11-month-old) female rats, they investigated the effect of oestradiol supplementation for differing lengths of time on the diurnal rhythms of activity, food intake, core body temperature and body weight of the animals.

Oestradiol supplementation promoted the stability of core body temperature, food intake and weight gain, and locomotor activities. Moreover, oestradiol supplementation reversed the effects of ageing overall, even when the animals’ treatment was delayed.

Read the full article in Neurobiology of Aging 83 1–10