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INHIBITION AND STIMULATION OF TESTES IN RATS TREATED WITH TESTOSTERONE PROPIONATE

From the Medical Research Laboratory, Samuel S. Fels Fund PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Abstract

WHEN A MALE RAT, in the prepubertal period, is treated with testes extract (1) or with testosterone or testosterone propionate (2) the testes are severely damaged: they are reduced in size and weight while spermatogenesis is seriously delayed or completely arrested. When testosterone propionate was administered to adult rats, no damaging effect was observed. As early as 1932, Moore and his collaborators showed that the damage induced by male sex hormone in young rats resulted from suppression of the pituitary.

The experiments here reported were undertaken in order to study the effect of testosterone propionate treatment begun in the prepubertal period and continued beyond maturity, as well as the duration of the post treatment effect. Some observations made in the course of our experiments prompted us to include the investigation of an apparent stimulating effect of testosterone propionate.

Received August 3, 1940.