Antifertility Drugs

Anti-fertility Drugs Experiment

Objective:
Studies were conducted to determine whether peripheral tissue resistance to exogenous insulin exists in vivo and whether an enhancement of plasmainsulin response to oral glucose occurs in contraceptive-treated rats. Experiments were designed to determine whether insulin resistance is due to a slower rate of glucose transport into tissues. In the Experiment, oral glucose tolerance was tested by force-feeding glucose, 300 mg/100 gm of body weight. Blood samples for serum glucose determinations were obtained by heart puncture. 10weeks of steroid treatment did not significantly modify the insulinogenic response to oral glucose. However, serum glucose tolerance was reduced.

Materials:
* Laboratory Rats (11-week-old,female rats, essentially pathogen free or gnotobiotic.)
* Norethynodrel (in combination and in quantities proportional to those used by women for contraceptive purposes.
* Mestranol (incombination and in quantities proportional to those used by women for contraceptive purposes.)

Procedure:
In this experiment Oral contraceptive steroids, norethynodrel and mestranol, were fed to11-week-old female rats, in combination and in quantities proportional to those used by women for contraceptive purposes.

Observations:
The rats were fed for 10 weeks and in this time theypresented a decrease in the glucose tolerance but the treatment did not modify the response of the insulin to the glucose

Results:
10 weeks of steroid treatment did not significantly modify theinsulinogenic response to oral glucose. However, serum glucose tolerance was reduced.

Conclusion:
 The first experiment, demonstrated that 10 week of treatment, impaired the animal's glucosetolerance, but not its insulin response to glucose.

References:
Oral contraceptives (online)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1153418 (Logged on 22/03/12)

Antifertility Drugs (online)...