Open AccessMotor and cognitive evaluations of rats exposed to the larvicide pyriproxifem in the prenatal period
Author(s) -
Gabrielle Batista de Aguiar,
Bianca Villanova,
Katriane Endiel Pereira,
Nicole Jansen Rabello,
Rafaela Maria Moresco,
Marcelo Alves de Souza,
Lígia Aline Centenaro
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
DOI - 10.5327/1516-3180.083
Subject(s) - offspring , pregnancy , larvicide , motor coordination , cognition , medicine , psychology , physiology , biology , neuroscience , ecology , aedes aegypti , genetics , larva
Background: In 2015 and 2016, there was an increase in microcephaly cases in Brazil, which were attributed to maternal contamination by Zika virus. However, the spread of this virus in the Brazilian states was not accompanied by an increase in the registers of this malformation. Thus, the use of the larvicide pyriproxifem to the control of mosquito Aedes Aegypt is being questioned. Objectives: Investigate the motor and cognitive function of rats exposed to piriproxifem in prenatal period. Design and setting: The study was developed at the Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, in the Cascavel campus. Methods: Three experimental groups were used: Negative control (CT-) - offspring of rats which consumed water during pregnancy; Positive control (CT+) - offspring of rats which consumed water containing retinoic acid during pregnancy; Piriproxifem (PIR) - offspring of rats which consumed water containing Sumilarv®, larvicide whose active substance is the pyriproxifem, during pregnancy. The gait quality was assessed using the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan scale (1995). Object-Placement Recognition Task was used to the spatial memory evaluation (Pizza et al., 2011). Results: There were no statistical differences between the groups in relation to the gait quality and the preference for the relocated object. Nevertheless, two animals in the PIR and five animals in the CT+ group had external rotation of the hindlimbs during locomotion or deficits in motor coordination. Conclusion: The mild motor deficits found indicate the need for studies to confirm a possible deleterious effect of this larvicide on the nervous system development.