Effects of sex, gonadectomy and several steroids on the development of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in the BB rat.

The spontaneous development of the putative autoimmune insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in BB rats was not affected by the following factors: (a) sex, (b) gonadectomy, (c) administration of testosterone decanoate, 11 alpha-hydroxynandrolone decanoate, ethinyloestradiol or Org OD14 (tibolone). Treatment with nandrolone decanoate lead to a statistically significant decrease in the incidence of diabetes in male rats in one experiment, but failed to do so in the second. These results and various data from the literature suggest that the influence of sex and steroids on the development of diabetes mellitus in the BB rat is different to that of autoimmune disorders in other animal models (New Zealand Black/White, New Zealand Black mice, Obese Strain chickens) and in man.