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OBJECTIVES: Vaginal atrophy and breast cancer are common conditions in postmenopausal women and tamoxifen is the standard endocrine treatment for hormone-sensitive tumors. The present study aimed to assess the effect of tamoxifen on Ki-67 protein expression in the vaginal epithelium of castrated rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty Wistar-Hannover adult, virgin, castrated rats were randomly divided into two groups, group I (control, n=20) and group II (tamoxifen, n=20), receiving 0.5 ml of propylene glycol and 250 µg of tamoxifen diluted in 0.5 ml of propylene glycol, respectively, daily by gavage for 30 days. On the 31st day, the rats were euthanized and their vaginas were removed and fixed in 10% buffered formalin for the immunohistochemical study of Ki-67 protein expression. Data were analyzed by the Levene and Student’s t tests (p

The aim of this study was to evaluate the arterial blood pressure and renal function of female rats in persistent estrus. Twenty-five female Wistar-Hannover rats were randomly divided into two groups: Group I (control, n = 15) and experimental (persistent estrus, n = 10). A tail-cuff system was used to measure blood pressure at 12 weeks of life. Parameters to evaluate renal function were taken into consideration. A significant increase in arterial pressure and a significant decrease in fractional sodium excretion were found in the androgenized animals compared to controls. There was no difference between the two groups with respect to glomerular filtration rate or in fractional potassium excretion. An increase in blood pressure and a reduction in fractional sodium excretion occur in female rats in persistent estrus.