[Mechanisms of sexual dysfunction in alloxan diabetic rats]

The hypophysis weight significantly rises in male and female rats suffering from mild alloxan diabetes (prediabetes and the latent disease form). In pronounced diabetes, a decrease in the hypophysis weight is seen. These changes do not correlate with alterations in sex function which is essentially deranged only in pronounced diabetes mellitus when the blood levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone and estradiol are reduced and the weight of the reproductive organs (prostate and uterus), dependent on the above blood hormone levels, decreases. These indices remain unchanged in prediabetes and the latent diabetes form. In marked diabetes, a rise in gonadotropin-releasing hormone level in the hypothalamic arcuate body is seen that may be indicative of lowering gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion into the blood rather than of its synthesis reduction in peptiergic neurons. These disturbances are supposed to be primary link in sex dysfunction development in diabetes.