Hemicastration in the rat is followed by hypertrophy of the remaining gonad (Heller, Heller & Sevringhaus, 1942), presumably as a result of increased pituitary secretion of gonadotrophins (Benson, Sorrentino & Evens, 1969). Howland (1972) recently demonstrated that caloric restriction interfered with ovarian hypertrophy and speculated that this was due to a decreased level of hypothalamic releasing factors. The present study was undertaken to determine if caloric restriction affected gonadal hypertrophy in the male as in the female. Immature Sprague-Dawley male rats, weighing 35 to 40 g, were used since the mature male does not respond with gonadal hypertrophy when hemicastrated (Means & Hall, 1967). For comparison with the results obtained by Howland (1972), adult female rats weighing 160 to 180 g were used, but for comparison with the males, an immature female was used. Both sexes were
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Stewart et al. (1973) studied this question.