Date of Award
5-1989
Honors Thesis Number
005006
Major
Physiology
Faculty Advisor
Steger, Richard W.
Abstract
This research project was based on the results of a previous experiment. Due to the high rate of impotence found in male diabetic patients, testosterone was given to diabetic male rats, in an effort to reverse the diabetic effects. Testosterone, being an anabolic sex steroid, was expected to increase body weight and hopefully reverse the abnormal sex behavior. The opposite of the expected results were observed in the previous experiment. The animals lost weight, at a rate faster than the diabetic animals not receiving testosterone, and the abnormal sex behavior was not reversed. In other words, the exogenous testosterone appeared to make the animals more diabetic. Since this was completely unexpected, possible explanations were sought, and thus the basis for this experiment.