The effect of estrogen-replacement therapy on clitoral-cavernosal tissue in oophorectomized rats: A histo-quantitative study by image analyzer

Sexual dysfunction is an important problem for aging females. However, litt le attention has been paid to female sexual dysfunction. The clitoris is an important organ for physiological sexual function in females. There is a c lose relationship between the presence of sexual complaints and levels of e strogen. Using the rat as an experimental model, we evaluated the effect of estrogen-replacement therapy and its timing on clitoral-cavernosal colloge n fiber content after oophorectomy. Four-month-old female Wistar rats (n = 36) weighing 230-250 g were used. They were categorized into four groups: o ophorectomized (Group 1: n = 10); oophorectomized + delayed estrogen replac ement (group 2: n = 10); oophorectornized + immediate estrogen replacement (group 3: n = 10); and sham operated (group 4: n = 6). The estrogen replace ment used was 17-beta -estradiol. All rats were euthanized at the same age. The specimens were stained with Masson's trichome technique, and computeri zed image analysis was used to quantify the collagen-fiber content of clito ral-cavernous tissue. The clitoral collagen-fiber percentages in the differ ent groups were as follows: group 1: 64.17 +/- 5.01%; group 2: 62.57 +/- 5. 37%; group 3: 56.33 +/- 3.85%; group 4: 51.48 +/- 6.37%, respectively. Alth ough there was a tendency in the untreated group for a higher collagen-fibe r content, no statistically significant difference was found among groups ( P > 0.05). Although the results of this study were not statistically signif icant, estrogen did appear to decrease clitoral-cavernosal collagen-fiber c ontent. These findings may be important in the pathophysiology of postmenop ausal female sexual dysfunction.