Introduction: Investigations have shown that ovarian steroids are involved in reduction of movement disorders during neurodegenerative diseases especially Parkinson's disease. These steroids have many side effects, thus, other estrogenic agents with fewer side effects are needed to develop alternative treatment strategies. The main objection of this study was to evaluate the effects of soy meal on movement disorders in ovariectomized animal model of Parkinson's disease. Materials & Methods: Animals were divided into 3 groups: intact, treated by normal diet and treated by soy meal diet. Female Wistar rats with the exception of intact group were ovariectomized at the first line of study. Then Stride length test was done and animals received special diet for 4 weeks post substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) electrical lesion. At the end, Stride length and Morpurgo's test was performed. Results: Soy meal diet in ovariectomized rats with SNc Lesion improved muscle stiffness without any effect on stride length. Conclusion: Our results suggest that soy meal is a potential alternative to estrogen in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Introduction: Stroke is a major cause of mortality and long-term disability among adults. The risk of stroke is rapidly increasing in women after menopause. It has been reported that exercise reduces ischemia and reperfusion injury in rat model of stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exercise on stroke outcome in the permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in ovariectomized mice. Materials and Methods: A group of 32 female mice (25-35g) were randomly divided into 4 groups as following (8 mice in each group): ovariectomy+stroke, stroke, ovariectomy+exercise+stroke, and sham. Seven days before exercise preconditioning, mice were ovariectomized. The exercise group was forced to run on a treadmill 5 days per week, for 40 min/day at a speed of 18 m/min for four weeks. Stroke was induced by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) method five weeks after ovariectomy. The infarct volume, sensory-motor deficits, and neurological deficits were studied. Results: Infarct volume in the ovariectomy+exercise+stroke and stroke groups was significantly smaller compared to ovariectomy+stroke group. In ovariectomy+exercise+stroke and stroke groups, neurological deficits were significantly lower than ovariectomy+stroke gorup, respectively. sensory-motor deficits were also lower in the ovariectomy+exercise+stroke and stroke groups compared to ovariectomy+stroke group. Conclusion: The present data suggest that exercise preconditioning plays a neuroprotective role in ovariectomized animals and improves stroke outcome in a permanent model of MCAO.

Introduction: Sex-dependent changes of behavioral responses in humans and animals has been widely investigated. There are also controversial reports regarding the role of sex hormones in memory and learning. The present study carried out to compare spatial learning of male, female and ovariectomized (OVX) rats in Morris water maze.  Materials and Methods: Twenty four rats were divided into 3 groups: 1) male, 2) female, 3) OVX. The animals were ovariectomized under ketamine anesthesia (150 mg/kg, I.P.). The same procedure as OVX rats was performed on the female and male rats except the wound was closed without removing the ovaries.8 weeks later, the animals of all groups were tested in Morris Water Maze. The escape latency, traveled path lengh and swimming speed to reach the platform were compared between groups. Results: Time latency in both OVX and male groups was significantly higher than female group . However, path length in OVX group was higher than female group, there was no significant difference in path length between male and female or between male and OVX groups. The swimming speed in male group was lower than female group. Conclusion: It might be concluded that endogenous estrogen has an important role in sex dependent differences of spatial learning.