Abstract
Summary
Male, nonarteriosclerotic (virgin) intact and castrated, Sprague-Dawley rats and male, arteriosclerotic (breeder) rats were subjected to an acute and massive myo-cardial infarct, by treating them with two large, subcutaneous doses of isoproterenol, spaced 24 hr apart. Serum insulin and glucose rose abruptly after the first injection of isoproterenol, but not after the second injection. Free fatty acids rose, most markedly, in the intact, nonarteriosclerotic rats, less in the arteriosclerotic breeders, and least in the castrates. These changes in free fatty acids coincided with numerical survival, i.e., greatest number of survivors in castrates. The castrated males also manifested the least amount of congestive heart failure and showed the greatest capacity to affect myo-cardial repair. It is suggested that reduced androgen levels may have an ameliorative effect on the usual pathogenesis of isopro-terenol-induced myocardial infarction in rats.
The authors are indebted to D. Conatser, R. Good-hew, and P. Keers for technical assistance.
This work was supported by grants from the Southwestern Ohio Heart Association and from the National Heart and Lung Institute (HL-13,222 and HL-15,304).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.