ABSTRACT
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA or "ecstasy"] is consumed mainly by young population. For this reason, it is especially relevant to take into consideration the effects on the reproductive system. The influence of MDMA on the fertility and reproduction of the male rat was assessed in this study
Material and methods: MDMA was administered orally at 0 mg/kg [control], 10 and 30 mg/kg to male rats for 15,30,45 consecutive days followed by 15 days withdrawal. Hormonal, biochemical, histological and testicular were evaluated in the rats. The present study aimed to investigate if daily oral administration of ecstasy at low doses [10mg] for 45 days has any deleterious effects on reproductive functions of male rats. Animals were randomly divided into four groups of ten rats each, assigned as control rats, or[0mg ecstasy], rats treated with 10mg ecstasy for, [15,30,45] days, rats treated with 30mg/kg body weight ecstasy for[,15,30,45]days by oral gavage. The third group[45 days] was followed by 15 withdrawal period[W15]
Results: The activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase in testicular homogenate were decreased while the levels of lipid peroxidation increased significantly in the treated rats as compared with the corresponding group of control animals. In group 30mg, only, arachidonic acid was significantly elevated in the testicular homogenate while linoleic acid was decresed when compared to control. Testis DNA fragmentation was observed in 30mg group, but not 10.mg. It is concluded that low doses of ecstasy exposure[10 mg/Kg] had moderate detrimental effects on reproductive organ system and more severe effects are likely to be observed at higher dose levels. These results indicate that ecstasy is directly toxic to primary Leydig cells, and that the decreased percentage of normal cells and the increased level of DNA damage in ecstasy-exposed Leydig cells may be responsible for decreased testosterone secretion. The results suggested that graded doses of ecstasy elicit depletion of antioxidant defence system and induce oxidative stress in testis of rats
In conclusion: the adverse effect of ecstasy on male reproduction may be due to induction of oxidative stress
ABSTRACT
Tramadol is a widely used analgesic that stimulates the opioid receptor and inhibits serotonin and noradrenalin reuptake. In this study, we investigate the effect of chronic administration of 200 and 400mg of tramal for 15,30 ,45 days followed by withdrawal periods[w15] on protein activity in male rats as manifested by changes in electrophoretic serum protein patterns and gene expression manifested by DNA damage, measured by Comet Assay. 100 male Wistar rats [100-150 g] were included and divided into three groups, control group [n = 20], Tramal[I] group [n = 40], received the drug orally at doses of 200mg/kg/day for 15,30,45 days of the study, respectively[10 rats for each subgroup].TR45 group was followed by 15 withdrawal period[W15] ,Tramal[II] group [n = 40], received the drug orally at doses of400mg/kg/day for 15,30,45 days of the study, respectively. TR45 group was followed by 15 withdrawal period [W15]. Results exhibited major changes in the protein pattern which included changes in the molecular weight of the control bands and the relative percentage of protein fraction as well as the total number of bands, as a result of disappearance of some original bands and appearance of other new one. Serum protein fraction revealed an increase in total number of protein fractions being in Tr 200 mg [14 and 16 bands], while TR 400 mg revealed a decrease in total number of bands [except TR15 which exhibited an increase in bands [14]. The changes were observed all over the treated groups as well as in the withdrawal groups In this study, the alkaline version of the comet assay has been used to determine the effect of tramal administration [200 and 400mg/Kg] on peroxide-initiated free radical-mediated DNA damage in rat liver cells. Indeed, levels of strand breaks in rat liver cell exposed to tramal 400 mg/Kg were significantly higher than in cells exposed to 200 mg/Kg, especially after a long administration period [TR 45 days]. The intensity of the comet tail relative to the head reflects the number of DNA breaks. The rates of tailed cells detected by the comet assay increased significantly when the rats were exposed to 200 and 400mg/kg of tramal compared with control [however, the tail length did not differ significantly between the same groups]. The intensity of the comet tail relative to the head reflects the number of DNA breaks. Our findings pointed out the risk of increased lipid peroxidation, hepatic DNA damage and abnormality in serum protein pattern due to long term use of tramadol, although opioids are reported to be effective in pain management, their toxic effects should be kept in mind