Effects of cabergoline on reproduction in three families of Australian marsupials

Abstract

The effects of the prolactin inhibiting drug, cabergoline, on pregnant and lactating marsupials were investigated in four species from three diverse families: the tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii, the quokka, Setonix branchyurus, the brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, and the fat-tailed dunnart, Smithopsis crassicaudata. In tammar wallabies, 20 μg cabergoline kg-1 injected intramuscularly 1 day before expected birth did not alter the timing of parturition but neonates died within a day of birth, suggesting that the onset of lactation was compromised. During early lactation in tammars (56-69 days post partum), an intramuscular injection transiently retarded growth of the young, although..