ABSTRACT
AIM: To investigate the effect of 17? estradiol (17?E 2)on atherosclerosis and hemorrheology in ovariectomized (OVX) rabbits. METHODS: Thirty four female rabbits were divided into 4 groups, group A: normal control; group B: sham+CHO; group C: OVX+CHO; group D: OVX+CHO+17? E 2. Cholesterol(CHO) was fed to rabbits for 12 weeks, before and after feeding CHO, the serum lipid (TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, ApoA1, ApoB) and area of aortic atherosclerotic plaques were measured. Blood viscosity, plasma viscosity (?p), aggregation index of RBC (AIRC) and fibrinogen were also determined, respectively. RESULTS: ① The ratio of area of aortic atherosclerotic plaque to total area of aortic intima was 0.02?0.003 (in group A), 0.42?0.15 (group B), 0.67?0.23 (group C), and 0.12?0 11 (group D), respectively. In group D, the ratio of aortic atherosclerotic plaque was markedly decreased compared with group C ( P