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Immediate and Late Effects of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids on Testicular Morphology of Rats
Author(s) -
FelixPatrício Bruno,
Guarçoni Thaissa Lange,
Marchon Roger Gaspar,
Medeiros Jorge Luiz,
Gregório Bianca Martins,
Souza Diogo Benchimol
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.516.2
Subject(s) - anabolism , nandrolone , medicine , placebo , endocrinology , body weight , testosterone (patch) , androgen , testicle , significant difference , hormone , pathology , alternative medicine
Background and objective The anabolic androgen steroids are indiscriminately used and in high doses by amateurs and professional athletes. Although its effects on different organs are well known, few is reported regarding the testicular morphological effects (both immediate and late) of these steroids. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of supraphysiologic doses of nandrolone decanoate on the testicular morphology of rats; and investigate if these effects would be transitory or permanent. Methods Twenty‐eight adult male Wistar rats were assigned into four groups. For eight weeks, control groups received placebo (oleaginous vehicle) injections while treated groups received nandrolone decanoate (10mg/Kg, intramuscularly, once a week). Groups control‐immediate (CI) and treated‐immediate (TI) were killed one week after the last injection. Groups control‐late (CL) and treated‐late (TL) were killed after 12 weeks from the last injection. Body weight, testicular weight and volume were measured. The testicle was processed for histomorphometrical analysis, and epithelium height and tubular area were obtained. Data was compared by Student's t test considering p<0.05 as significant. Results No difference was observed regarding body weight. Also, testicular weight and volume was similar among groups TI and CI. However, group TL showed a reduction of 44% and 48% in testicular weight and volume, respectively, in comparison to CL. The tubular area was reduced in both TI (by 22%) and TL (by 46%), in comparison to their control groups. Further, epithelium height was reduced by 9% in group TI. Conclusion The use of supraphysiologic doses of nandrolone decanoate promotes testicular morphological alterations in rats. These alterations are not reversible after discontinuing the treatment and may cause permanent subfertility. Support or Funding Information FAPERJ, CNPq, CAPES This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .