Age-related effects of lead poisoning on sex hormones in adult male Wistar rats

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, about a quarter of the diseases facing mankind today occur due to prolonged exposure to environmental pollution, and that most of these environment-related diseases are however, not easily detected and may be acquired during childhood and manifested later in adulthood. The aim of this work was to determine the sub-chronic effects of lead poisoning on and some sex hormones, as well as age-related changes on Wistar Rats. Thirty (30) of 3-, 5-, and 7-months old age-groups male Wistar rats were selected; each age group was divided into experimental (lead fed) and control (distil water fed) groups. The levels of sex hormones (LH, FSH and Testestrone) were measured using ELISA method, while blood lead concentration was determined using the method of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. There was a significant (P<0.05) increase between experimental and control groups in blood lead concentration and insignificant (P˃0.05) increase in LH in both experimental and  control groups. Significant (P<0.05) decrease in body weight, testosterone levels, FSH was observed between experimental and control groups. The effect of lead (Pb) on testosterone levels was more pronounced in older animals. It was concluded that, ingestion of lead acetate has an age related effect on male sex hormones in older rats. Key words: Sex hormones, lead, male, Wistar rats.