Improvement in the fertility of streptozotocin-diabetic male rats following treatment with insulin and human chrionic gonadotropin.

Diabetes was produced in male rats with streptozotocin. Some of them were subsequently treated with exogenous insulin, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) or both. The rats were tested six weeks later for fertility, testosterone secretion and spermatogenesis. Diabetes was found to inhibit all three parameters of fertility. Accessory gland atrophy was restodred following the treatment with insulin and much improved with insulin plus hCG. In a diabetic control group on restricted food intake, insulin alone did not significantly improve fertility, whereas hCG enhanced steroidegenesis and spermatogenesis but not fertility. Treatment with both hCG and sinulsin gave the best results.