Serum LH, FSH and prolactin levels were measured in blood samples which were obtained by decapitation from groups of female, neonatally androgenized female and male Wistar rats at 2-day intervals from birth to maturity. An increase in serum FSH levels was observed between 4 and 24 days of age in both the female and androgenized female groups, while a much later increase, between 28 and 44 days of age, occurred in the males. Serum prolactin levels increased gradually from birth in all three groups until adult levels were attained. In contrast, serum LH levels were in general low in all three groups of animals, although very high levels (> 7 ng/ml) were recorded in 22 out of 168 females and 8 out of 192 males between 4 and 28 days of age, as well as in adult males; occasional high LH levels were also seen in the androgenized females.
The nature of the high serum LH levels was investigated in anaesthetized and unanaesthetized immature females by serial blood sampling using a number of techniques. Unexpectedly, only three out of 58 animals had high LH levels: two of these showed an episodic form of LH release during which levels increased to peak values and then declined within a period of about 30 min. On investigation it was found that general disturbance within the 45 min before decapitation could inhibit high LH levels in females aged between 23 and 30 days.
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