Estrogen therapy increases BDNF expression and improves post-stroke depression in ovariectomy-treated rats.

The present study investigated the effect of exogenous estrogen on post-stroke depression. Rats were exposed to chronic mild stress following middle cerebral artery occlusion. The occurrence of post-stroke depression was evaluated according to the changes in preference for sucrose and performance in a forced swimming test. Estrogen therapy significantly improved these neurological symptoms, indicating that estrogen is effective in treating post-stroke depression. Increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression was reported in the hippocampus of rats that had been treated with estrogen for two weeks, suggesting that BDNF expression may be an important contributor to the improvement of post-stroke depression that is observed following estrogen therapy.