DEVELOPMENT OF FEMALE RATS INJECTED SHORTLY AFTER BIRTH WITH TESTOSTERONE OR »ANABOLIC STEROIDS«

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Abstract
The present work is concerned with early effects of a single injection of 1.5 mg testosterone propionate into 5 day old female rats (injected rats). Effects of "anabolic steroids" given to rats shortly after birth, generally on the 5th day, were also studied. Untreated littermates served as controls. (1) As early as 5 days after injection (rat''s age 10 days) a reduction in ovarian weight was noticeable. At 10 days after injection the ovaries weighed less than those of controls. (2) Vaginal smears showing cornified cells were obtained from injected rats about 5 days prior to controls. At the controls'' first oestrous the ovaries of the injected rats weighed approximately 60 per cent of those of the controls. At this time the ovaries of the controls contained large follicles but no corpora lutea. (3) Confirming previous results of other workers, injected rats observed for about 2 months presented constant vaginal oestrous and ovaries without corpora lutea. The ovaries weighed less than half those of the controls. This result was obtained irrespective of whether one ovary had been removed a fortnight previously, or not. Rats given 1.5 mg testosterone propionate at 20 days of age did not show any persistent effects. Records of weight of body, pituitary gland and adrenals were also in agreement with results of other investigators. (4) Results obtained from similar experiments with "anabolic steroids" (19-nor-testosterone, 1-methyl-androst-l-enolone-oenanthate and methandrostenolone = Durabol, Primobolan and Dianabol, respectively) indicated that, in the doses studied so far, a depression of endocrine activities and/or persistent defects in the development of female accessory reproductive organs and ovarian function may occur in rats after an injection given within 24 hours after birth or at 5 days of age. The importance of further investigations with regard to the clinical use of "anabolic steroids", particularly in newborn infants, is discussed.