Effects of testosterone and oestrogen on serum prolactin in the androgen-insensitive rat

Summary. Serum prolactin levels in intact, castrated, and castrated adrenalec-tomized normal and male pseudohermaphrodite (Tfm) rats were compared before and after administering testosterone oenanthate and oestradiol benzoate. Without steroids, castration alone and castration plus adrenalectomy effected a drop in pro-lactin titres which was greater in the castrated\p=n-\adrenalectomizedrats. Although testosterone did not raise the prolactin titres in any of the animals studied, oestrogen raised them far above normal in all. The fall in prolactin following castration and castration + adrenalectomy could be the result of removal of organs that were pro-ducing oestrogen