HISTOMORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF EFFECTS OF BICALUTAMIDE ON SPERMATOGENESIS IN MALE RATS

Abstract

Objective: To study the effects of Bicalutamide on spermatogenesis in male rats.
Study Design: Laboratory based randomized controlled trial.
Place and Duration of Study: Anatomy Department, Armed Forces Postgraduate Medical Institute (AFPGMI), Rawalpindi in collaboration with National Veterinary Laboratories (NVL), Islamabad from April 2008 to May 2008.
Material and Methods: Forty adult male Sprague Dawley rats weighing 200-300 grams were randomly divided into two groups, Group A and Group B, each consisting of 20 animals each. Group A was taken as control group and was administered 5 cc of distilled water orally daily for 24 days while group B (Experimental group) was given 5 cc of distilled water daily containing bicalutamide 10mg/ kg/ day for 24 days. All the animals were sacrificed on the next day after the last dose. The testes were removed and fixed in 10% formalin and then processed for paraffin embedding. Five micron thick sections were made. Haematoxylin, Eosin and PAS stains were used. Histomorphometric analysis was done and parameters, including the tubular diameter, height of seminiferous epithelium and germ cell count were noted.
Results: Statistically significant differences were found in tubular diameter, height of seminiferous epithelium and germ cell count in testes of experimental group when compared with the control group
Conclusion: The results showed that the mean tubular diameter, the height of the germinal epithelium of the seminiferous tubules and the number of germ cells were significantly reduced in the experimental group showing that bicalutamide suppresses spermatogenesis in the Sprague – Dawley rats.