Abstract
Hydroxyprogesterone caproate is one of the most effective and widely used drugs for the treatment of uterine bleeding and threatened miscarriage in women. Hydroxyprogesterone caproate was administered to pregnant rats in order to assess the effect of intraperitoneal exposure to supranormal levels of hydroxyprogesterone caproate on the male reproductive potential in the first generation. The cauda epididymal sperm count and motility decreased significantly in rats exposed to hydroxyprogesterone caproate during embryonic development, when compared with control rats. The levels of serum testosterone decreased with an increase in follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone in adult rats exposed to hydroxyprogesterone caproate during the embryonic stage. It was suggested that the impairment of male reproductive performance could be mediated through the inhibition of testosterone production.
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Acknowledgements
The financial support extended by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India (F-3-54/99) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank Prof. Vijaya Raghavan, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai, for her help in the radioimmunoassay of FSH and LH. We thank Dr. B. Manjulatha Reddy for suggestions, S. Umasankar for maintaining the rat colony in the Department and Dr. K.V.S. Sarma for statistical analysis of data. The experiments were conducted following the regulations of the Ethical Committee and comply with the laws of the Country.
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Pushpalatha, T., Ramachandra Reddy, P. & Sreenivasula Reddy, P. Impairment of male reproduction in adult rats exposed to hydroxyprogesterone caproate in utero. Naturwissenschaften 91, 242–244 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-004-0521-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-004-0521-0