Plasma stress hormones in resting rats - Eighty four day study

The effects of a repeated mild stress of handling and placing rats temporarily into unfamiliar cages on the blood-plasma concentration of the stress hormones (corticosterone, ACDH, and prolactin) were investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to this type of stress once every week during a period of three months. Results showed that repeated mild stress of handling (as well as repeated blood sampling) did not affect the plasma stress-hormone concentrations in these animals.