[Influence of oophorectomy on weight variance in young and adult female rats].

To assess the effects of oophorectomy on body weight, 60 adult female rats were divided into two groups (30 in each group): Group A -- young rats; Group B -- adult rats. The animals of each group were divided into three subgroups: Subgroup 1 (n= 6) -- control; Subgroup 2 (n= 6) -- laparotomy; Subgroup 3 (n= 18) -- bilateral oophorectomy. The weight of the animals was weekly assessed during 13 weeks and the results were compared by Student t test, with significance for p<0.05. The oophorectomized rats presented higher weight gain than those of the other groups. The difference was significant after eleven weeks, in Group A, and nine weeks, in Group B, until the end of the experiment. In the present work, bilateral oophorectomy in rats was related to higher body weight, independent on the age of the animals.