Women’s Health

Women’s Health Matters ! President Biden just signed an executive order that recognizes the importance of studying women’s health issues. We model menopausal symptoms in the marmoset to understand how estrogen loss impacts sleep, thermoregulation and cognitive function and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Following decades of sexist outlook on women’s health, some continue to belittle research on menopause and tell women that they should just deal with it! Why should you care ? get informed and read below:

WHY DOES THE STUDY of MENOPAUSE MATTER ?

• Check out TED talk “breaking the Silence on Women’s Health” by Dr. deLange

• Menopause and the brain, this month in Nature

• Women have been misled about menopause, 2023 New York Times article

• Menopause is a critical stage in a women’s life that can increase the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease !
  

Understanding how menopause impacts the brain

Thermoregulation

Here, a thermal imaging camera captures the temperature of a marmoset in a non-invasive, non-contact manner. The nose region is highlighted.

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Papers on This Topic

Pletzer, B., Comasco, E., Hidalgo-Lopez, E., Lacreuse, A., & Derntl, B. (2023). Editorial: Effects of hormonal contraceptives on the brain. Frontiers in endocrinology, 14, 1129203. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1129203.

Edwards, M., Lam., S., Ranjan, R., Pereira, M., Babbitt, C., Lacreuse, A. (2023).  Letrozole treatment alters hippocampal gene expression in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Hormones and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105281

Gervais, N. J., Remage-Healey, L., Starrett, J. R., Pollak, D. J., Mong, J. A., & Lacreuse, A. (2019). Adverse effects of aromatase inhibition on the brain and behavior in a non-human primate. J Neurosci. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.0353-18.2018

Gervais, N. J., Mong, J. A., & Lacreuse, A. (2017). Ovarian hormones, sleep and cognition across the adult female lifespan: An integrated perspective. Front Neuroendocrinol, 47, 134-153. 

Gervais, N. J., Viechweg, S. S., Mong, J. A., & Lacreuse, A. (2016). The middle-aged ovariectomized marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) as a model of menopausal symptoms: Preliminary evidence. Neuroscience, 337, 1-8.

Lacreuse, A., Mong, J. A., & Hara, Y. (2015). Neurocognitive effects of estrogens across the adult lifespan in nonhuman primates: State of knowledge and new perspectives. Horm Behav, 74, 157-166. Lacreuse, A. (2006). Effects of ovarian hormones on cognitive function in nonhuman primates. Neuroscience, 138(3), 859-867.

Lacreuse, A., Chang, J., Metevier, C. M., Laclair, M., Meyer, J. S., & Ferris, C. M. (2014). Oestradiol modulation of cognition in adult female marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). J Neuroendocrinol, 26(5), 296-309.