ABSTRACT
Apoptosis is a physiological mechanism of cell death and it can be triggered by a variety of internal and external stimuli. It has been shown that some opium derivatives promote cell apoptosis. This study was designed to examine the influence of opium addiction on testicular cell apoptosis in Wistar rats. This experimental study was performed on 7 opium-addicted as case group and 7 normal rats as control group. In the case group, animals treated with peritoneal injections of opium twice a day at 8 a.m and 8 p.m for 8 days based on the following regimen; at the first day 30 mg/kg, second day 60 mg/kg, third day 90 mg/kg, fourth day 120 mg/kg, and from fifth to eighth day 150 mg/kg. The control group received only normal saline. Apoptosis was then evaluated by TUNEL and DNA fragmentation assays. The results of this study showed that the rate of testicular cells apoptosis in opium-addicted rats were significantly higher than the normal rats [p<0.001]. These results indicated that opium addiction may play an important role in testicular cells apoptosis and as a result can cause testicula dysfunction and reduced testosterone production which may culminate in infertility