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

Serum prolactin levels in intact, castrated, and castrated adrenalectomized 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 prolactin titres which was greater in the castrated-adrenalectomized rats. 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 producing oestrogen.