Study on the effects of gestational and lactational administration of caffeine on the cornea and retina of the albino rat offsprings

Caffeine was a methylated xanthine derivative, widely used psycho-stimulant that is self-administered by population and present in numerous drugs and dietary products. It was a legal stimulant that is readily available even to pregnant women and children. Caffeine crossed the placenta easily, passed to the amniotic fluid, umbilical cord blood and appeared in the urine and plasma of the neonates. It was diffused readily into the breast milk, A total number of 18 adult female albino rats were used. They were divided into three groups, one control group and two experimental groups, each was formed of 6 animals. The control group received distilled water during gestation and lactational period, the first experimental group received caffeine powder dissolved in distilled water using a oro-gastric tube in a single dose of 25 mg/kg/ day from the day zero of pregnancy until the day of labor while the second experimental group received a single dose of 25 mg/kg/ day during lactational period only until the age of weaning. The litters of the first experimental and half of the control group were sacrificed just after being delivered while those of the second experimental and other half of the control were sacrificed at the age of twenty two postnatal days. Ten litters from each group were used. The specimens obtained from the right eyes were prepared as semithin sections for histological and morphometric studies. The litters of the experimental groups revealed increased thickness of the corneal epithelial layer, prominent Descemet 's membrane, thickened endothelial layer and an apparently normal corneal stroma. The total thickness of the retina and the thicknesses of different retinal layers of the experimental groups revealed marked significant reduction in comparison to the control groups in the newly-born and twenty two days old rats

Teratogenic effects of adriamycin on the prenatal development of the vertebral column of the albino rat

Adriamycin [cytotoxic, antineoplastic antibiotic] and its metabolites had been implicated as human teratogens. Teratogenic studies had shown multiple congenital defects in rats exposed prenatally to adriamycin including esophageal atresia, multiple intestinal atresias, hydronephrosis and retarded bone ossification and formation of accessory ribs. Forty litters were used in this study for both control and experimental groups [20 for each] in the present study. Their mothers received 3 intra peritoneal injections [each of 1.75 mg/kg] in the 6[th], 7[th] and 8[th] days of gestation. On the 21[st] day of gestation all pregnant animals were sacrificed and their fetuses were obtained through laparotomy and uterine incisions. One half of the litters of both control and experimental groups were used for gross skeletal study using alizarin red stain and the other half was subjected for light microscopic study using ordinary paraffin section preparation technique. Morphometric measurements were applied to study variations of the total body weight, the CRL of the litters, the vertical and antro-posterior diameters of the vertebral bodies and the disc space and vertical diameter of the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral discs. Multiple vertebral defects in the form of delayed or absent ossification features in the vertebral bodies, delayed or fusion between the bodies and neural arches, abnormal fusion between vertebral bodies, non visualization of most caudal vertebrae and significant decreased morphometric measurements of the experimental animals were observed in the present work. These abnormalities as well as features of intrauterine growth retardation caused by adriamycin that is considered as an antimitotic agent causing delayed differentiation and growth by interfering with cell division

Effect of ethanol administration on thyroid gland of adult albino rat: histological and steriological study

Excessive consumption of ethanol is well known to cause many harmful health effects, involving damage to various organs and systems. The effect of continuous administration of 10% ethanol, the only drinking fluid for eight weeks on the structure of the gland were studied. Ten male albino rats Wistar strain of ten weeks old and 250 gm initial body weight were used. The animals were randomly divided into two groups. One group was received 10% ethanol as the only drinking fluid [ad-libitum], for eight weeks. The second group drank distilled water free of ethanol, and served as control. Thyroid lobes were collected and immediately fixed. Fixation was done in formaldehyde 10% [for paraffin section] and gluteraldehyde 5% for semithin sections, for 24 hours for both. Paraffin sections were cut at 7 micro/m and routinely were stained with hematoxylin and eosin [Hx and E] for morphological examination by a light microscope, and others were stained by Van Gisson stain for the reticular fibres. Toluidine blue stain was done for the semithin sections [0.5 micro m]. Stereological techniques were done to estimate the volume proportion of the reticular fibres and fibrous element relative to total glandular tissue of both control and treated animals using the point counting technique. Also the thickness of the follicular epithelium was measured. Exposure to ethanol results in changes in the histology and morphometry of the thyroid. Changes were in the form of desquamation of the lining epithelium in some follicles, increased thickness of the glandular epithelium, increased amount of fibrous tissues between the follicles. Increased number of dilated blood vessels in the thyroid gland of the rats exposed to ethanol. Our study seems to indicate that excessive consumption of ethanol can affect the structure of the thyroid gland