Neonatal Hormone Patterns In the Macaque. I. Steroids1

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Abstract
Testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, estradiol and cortisol were measured in serum from neonatal monkeys. Testosterone concentrations were found to be elevated in sera from male rhesus monkeys during the first 14 postnatal weeks. During this period, high serum testosterone concentrations were also found in samples from male pigtail macaques. Castration of male rhesus monkeys at birth eliminated the postnatal testosterone elevation, a finding which supports the hypothesis that the primary source of male neonatal androgens is the testis. Further evidence in support of this hypothesis was the observation that serum testosterone concentrations in neonatal females were the same as levels found in castrated males. Since there was no postnatal sex difference in serum cortisol concentrations, the adrenal appeared to be an unlikely primary source of elevated serum androgens in the neonatal male. Since serum estrogen concentrations did not rise in or differ between neonatal male or female rhesus monkeys, it is unlikely that activation of early postnatal ovarian steroidogenesis occurs.