Peripheral androgen levels in peripuberal rams infected with Fasciola hepatica

Three-month-old, Polled Dorset rams infected with Fasciola hepatica and uninfected control rams were monitored throughout the peripuberal phase for peripheral concentrations of testosterone and for body weight. No differences between groups occurred in these measurements from early spring to mid-autumn. However, the infected postpuberal rams demonstrated a reduced ability to remove exogenous testosterone from the circulation. Liver damage induced by moderate infections of flukes apparently impairs hepatic catabolism of this steroid but compensatory mechanisms appear to maintain circulating levels comparable to those of uninfected rams.