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ELIZABETH HERVEY
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G. R. HERVEY
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SUMMARY

The effects of progesterone administration on the weight and composition of the body have been studied in rats. Female rats injected with 5 mg. progesterone/day initially gained weight at an average rate of 2 g./day, compared with 0·4 g./day for controls. When treatment was continued for a month or more their weight stabilized at 40–50 g. above the control level. The bodies of the progesterone-treated rats contained increased amounts of water, fat and solids other than fat. These effects were smoothly related to the dose of progesterone.

In terms of percentage composition, fat increased at the expense of the other two constituents. The composition of the fat-free solids did not change, but the proportion of water in the fat-free body increased. About a tenth of the gain of live weight was accounted for by an increase in the contents of the alimentary tract. The composition of the rest was equivalent, typically, to 43% lean tissue, 26% water additional to that in the lean tissue, and 31% fat.

Male rats treated with progesterone showed no changes other than a small gain of water.

It seems likely that in females progesterone reproduces the changes in body composition which occur in pregnancy. The gain of lean tissue seems to reflect increased growth it, and the accumulation of fat, may both be consequences of the production of a positive energy balance.

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M. A. Shaw
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E. M. Whitaker
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Elizabeth Hervey
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G. R. Hervey
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Congenitally obese Zucker rats showed greater food intake, less running in activity wheels and greater body weight and fat content than the normal phenotype. Their food intake, running and body weight did not change significantly with the phase of the oestrous cycle. Ovariectomy had no effect on these variables or on body composition. Oestradiol replacement had little effect. Zucker rats of normal weight, however, showed a normal pattern of responses to the oestrous cycle, ovariectomy and oestradiol administration. The central regulation of energy balance and body weight appear to be insensitive to oestrogens in the obese Zucker rat.

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E. M. Whitaker
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M. A. Shaw
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G. R. Hervey
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The plasma oestradiol-17β concentrations of obese and non-obese female Zucker rats have been measured in three phases of the oestrous cycle. The oestradiol concentrations of both phenotypes were similar, and changed normally with the oestrous cycle. The weights of the uteri also changed normally with the cycle. Plasma androgen concentrations in male Zucker rats have also been measured: the mean concentration was slightly but significantly lower in obese rats, and androgen-sensitive tissues were slightly reduced in weight. The oestradiol-17β concentrations in males of both phenotypes were similar. It seems unlikely that deficient plasma concentrations of gonadal hormones cause the infertility of obese rats of either sex.

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