Effect of Reserpine on Pituitary-Gonadal Axis

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Abstract
Reserpine at a dose level of 0.2 mg/kg delayed vaginal opening in infantile female rats, and postponed estrous in normally cycling female rats. In women, vaginal smears likewise indicated decreased estrogen production throughout treatment. Histological sections of the ovaries of adult rats treated with reserpine showed absence of mature follicles (control 5-8), and presence of corpora lutea, similar to those seen during lactation. Sections of uteri showed the same pattern as in lactating rats. Reserpine delayed testicular descent in young infantile rats. In mature male rats, high doses resulted in regressive atrophy of testes, seminal vesicles and prostates. Testes of pigeons treated with reserpine weighed 20-50% of the weight of controls. Histological sections showed arrest of spermatogenesis at the stage of spermatids or mitotic secondary spermatocytes. Only in rare cases were spermatozoa found in relatively small numbers. The gonadotropin level in menopausal women who received reserpine treatment in doses as high as 5-15 mg daily, decreased from 100 RU/l to 25 RU/l. It is concluded that reserpine interferes with the pituitary-gonadal axis by suppression of gonadotropin secretion from the pituitary, apparently as a result of its direct action on the hypothalamus.