Table 1. Division of rats in four groups.

Group	Hormones	Plasma estradiol (pg/ml)	Plasma progesterone (ng/ml)
Sham-operated	No pellets implanted	81,48±125,28	55,39±45,89
Ovariectomized (OVX)	No pellets implanted	44,82±19,51	14,93±12,60#
17β-estradiol-treated (E2)	0.25 mg β-estradiol 17-acetate released in 21 days	96,32±36,78(**)	29,22±17,58
Progesterone-treated (P4)	600 mg progesterone released in 21 days	27,57±19,83	35,29±13,71(*)

^{* ,} **significant different from the corresponding value in OVX group.

^#significant different from the corresponding value in Sham group.