HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Puerta, M. Articles by Abelenda, M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Puerta, M. Articles by Abelenda, M.

Progesterone does not alter sympathetic activity in tissues involved in energy balance

Puerta M, Venero C, Castro C, Abelenda M. Progesterone does not alter sympathetic activity in tissues involved in energy balance. Eur J Endocrinol 1996;134:508–12. ISSN 0804–4643

Female rats acclimated to thermoneutrality to avoid cold influences received progesterone by means of subcutaneous implants. They increased their food intake and body weight above the values recorded in control animals. None the less, despite the enhanced food intake, no sign of activation of the sympathetic nervous system was observed, as judged by the unaltered noradrenaline content, half-life and turnover rate in brown adipose tissue, pancreas and heart. This indicates that progesterone increases food intake but prevents non-energy-conservation processes regulated by the sympathetic nervous system from taking place. Thus, it facilitates in two different ways the building up of energy stores. Because overfeeding induced by palatable diets increases the sympathetic tone to the organs studied, it is suggested that the central mechanisms regulating energy balance are probably influenced in a different manner by progesterone than by the sensory properties of palatable diets.

M Puerta, Departamento de Biología Animal II (Fisiología Animal), Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, E-28040 Madrid, Spain