Audiogenic seizures in adult male castrated rats treated with various hormones

Adult male albino rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain were castrated or shamoperated and evaluated for their susceptibility to audiogenic seizures at periodic intervals after surgery. These animals were maintained on daily administration of various hormones (testosterone, progesterone, or estradiol) at different dosage levels. A total of 378 animals, divided into 26 different groups according to their initial seizure susceptibility and treatment condition, were used. The results demonstrated that for the seizure-resistant animals, castration alone, or combined with testosterone or progesterone, did not significantly alter the incidence of audiogenic seizures. Estradiol significantly increased seizure incidence in the castrated groups. For the seizure-susceptible animals (castrated and sham-operated), both testosterone and progesterone caused a significant decrease in seizure incidence, whereas estradiol maintained the high level of seizure incidence.