Anxiogenic CO2 Stimulus Elicits Exacerbated Hot Flash-like Responses in a Rat Menopause Model and Hot Flashes in Menopausal Women

摘要

ObjectiveSince longitudinal studies determined that anxiety is a strong risk factor for hot flashes, we hypothesized that an anxiogenic stimulus that signals air hunger (hypercapnic, normoxic gas) would trigger an exacerbated hot flash-associated increase in tail skin temperature (TST) in a rat ovariectomy (OVEX) model of surgical menopause and hot flashes in symptomatic menopausal women. We also assessed TST responses in OVEX serotonin transporter (SERT)^+/− rats that models a common polymorphism that is associated with increased climacteric symptoms in menopausal women and increases in anxiety traits.