Testosterone deficiency reduces cardiac hypertrophy in a rat model of severe volume overload.

The aim of the study was to characterize if the development of cardiac hypertrophy (CH) caused by severe left ventricle (LV) volume overload (VO) from chronic aortic valve regurgitation (AR) in male rats was influenced by androgens. We studied Wistar rats with/without orchiectomy (Ocx) either sham-operated (S) or with severe AR for 26 weeks. Loss of testosterone induced by Ocx decreased general body growth.