Abstract
Summary
1. Adrenalectomy of spayed rats produced a borderline rise in plasma LH, whereas acute or chronic treatment with large doses of cortisol failed to alter plasma LH. Chronic treatment with cortisol lowered pituitary ACTH and elevated pituitary LH slightly. 2. Treatment of ovariectomized rats with a large dose of estradiol benzoate lowered plasma LH while adrenal weight remained unchanged. Since body weight fell, the ratio of adrenal to body weight rose. Pituitary LH was markedly lowered by this treatment, whereas pituitary ACTH was slightly elevated. 3. It was concluded that alteration in target gland steroids produces specific effects on LH in the case of ovarian steroids, and ACTH in the case of cortical steroids. Estrogen can stimulate ACTH secretion at the same time that it inhibits LH secretion.
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