The effects of diet and letrozole treatment on reproduction in the female spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus)

Discovery of menstruation in spiny mouse provides new directions in women’s reproductive health research. In women, obesity and poly cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are linked resulting in infertility. My studies tested this link using spiny mice: In Study 1 a high caloric diet did not cause excessive weight gain or change the menstrual cycle suggesting a protective mechanism prevented this. In Study 2, letrozole treatment was used to induce PCOS, but, unlike other rodents, no PCOS symptoms and no change in menstrual cycles were observed. These studies confirm that spiny mice are not typical rodents in their responses to these experimental treatments.