Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada H4B 1R6.
Endocrinology. 2012 Dec;153(12):5928-39. doi: 10.1210/en.2012-1578. Epub 2012 Oct 15.
Low sexual desire concomitant with feelings of distress is reported in naturally and surgically menopausal women. A combination of estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) restores sexual desire and interest in these women. The central mechanisms by which E2 and T act to restore desire are poorly understood. Here we examined the effect of chronic treatment with testosterone propionate (TP) administered by a sc SILASTIC brand capsule in aged ovary-intact female rats. Females were first treated with TP alone, followed by a second phase when TP was administered in combination with estradiol benzoate (EB; 10 μg) by sc injection 48 h prior to testing (EB+TP). Each phase consisted of 5 test days at 4-d intervals. Appetitive and consummatory female sexual behaviors were observed in bilevel chambers, and plasma E2 and T concentrations were measured with ELISA. Sexual solicitations and hops and darts were facilitated by the highest TP dose, and the lordosis quotient was increased by the two highest TP doses when administered alone, coinciding with an increase in plasma T, but those behavioral effects were not maintained across time. The lordosis quotient was inversely related to the TP dose in the EB+TP phase. These results suggest that the administration of TP by sc capsules to aged female rats facilitates appetitive and consummatory sexual behaviors; however, chronic treatment appears to be inhibitory. This is the first study to assess sexual behavior after SILASTIC brand implants of TP in the aged female rat. Additional research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the effects of T on female sexual function.
伴有痛苦感的低性欲在自然绝经和手术绝经的女性中均有报道。雌二醇（E2）和睾酮（T）联合治疗可恢复这些女性的性欲和性兴趣。E2 和 T 恢复性欲的中枢机制尚未完全了解。在这里，我们研究了通过 sc SILASTIC 品牌胶囊给予丙酸睾酮（TP）的慢性治疗对老年卵巢完整雌性大鼠的影响。雌性大鼠首先单独接受 TP 治疗，然后在第二个阶段，在测试前 48 小时通过 sc 注射给予雌二醇苯甲酸酯（EB；10 μg）与 TP 联合治疗（EB+TP）。每个阶段包括 5 个测试日，间隔 4 天。在双水平室中观察到雌性的性唤起和性接受行为，并用 ELISA 测量血浆 E2 和 T 浓度。在单独给予时，最高剂量的 TP 促进了性求爱和跳扑，并且增加了背屈商数，这与血浆 T 的增加一致，但这些行为效应并没有随着时间的推移而持续。在 EB+TP 阶段，背屈商数与 TP 剂量呈反比。这些结果表明，通过 sc 胶囊给予 TP 可促进老年雌性大鼠的性唤起和性接受行为；然而，慢性治疗似乎具有抑制作用。这是首次评估 SILASTIC 品牌 TP 植入物在老年雌性大鼠中对性行为的影响的研究。需要进一步的研究来阐明 T 对女性性功能的影响的机制。
