Changes of Bladder Function Related to the Effects of Menopause

Female sex hormones are thought to be important in the histological and functional maintenance of the genitourinary tract. Estrogen deficiency after menopause may be related to urinary symptoms. Postmenopausal atrophic changes cause genital and urinary deterioration and reduce sexual health, resulting in an overactive bladder. Ovariectomized virgin rats appear to be an optimal postmenopausal animal model, as they are free of the confounding effects of delivery and advancing age. Although the exact mechanisms of postmenopausal bladder dysfunction are undetermined, decreased vascularity has been introduced as the primary event resulting in atrophy, with possible underlying mechanisms, which can explain bladder dysfunction. Local administration of estrogen seems to be effective in the management of urinary symptoms in postmenopausal women, and this route of administration has the advantage of alleviating the adverse side effects of systemic replacement.