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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Cystometric and External Urethral Sphincter Measurements in Awake Rats with Implanted Catheter and Electrodes Allowing for Repeated Measurements
Published on: January 30, 2018
Effect of estrogen and progesterone on urodynamics in the conscious rat
Phani B Patra1, Kevin S Thorneloe, Nicholas J Laping
1Cardiovascular and Urogenital Center for Excellence in Drug Discovery, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406, USA.
Objectives:
To examine the effects of estrogen and/or progesterone on the cystometric profiles obtained using continuous-filling cystometry in the conscious Sprague-Dawley rat.
Methods:
Sprague-Dawley rats underwent ovariectomy (OVX) and were compared with controls by conscious continuous-filling cystometry. The effect of estrogen (10 microg/kg/d for 14 days) and/or progesterone (10 mg/kg/d for 14 days) replacement on OVX urodynamics was examined (n = 7-8/group).
Results:
OVX rats demonstrated reduced micturition intervals and voided volumes compared with controls. These effects of OVX were reversed by estrogen replacement, but not by progesterone replacement. When combined with estrogen, progesterone functioned to partially antagonize the effects of estrogen in OVX rats.
Conclusions:
Estrogen enhances bladder capacity in the OVX rat and therefore is a likely contributor to the larger bladder capacity in the female compared with the male rat. Consistent with its established role in reproductive physiology, progesterone antagonizes the beneficial effects of estrogen on OVX rat urodynamics.
