Radioprotective role of vitamin E and testosterone against radiation effects on serum cholesterol and free fatty acids of irradiated rats

The present study has been carried out to evaluate the radioprotective efficiency of vitamin E and testosterone for protecting the levels of serum total cholesterol and free fatty acids from deleterious radiation effects. Whole body gamma irradiation of rats at the dose of 7 Gy induced significant increase in the level of serum total cholesterol. This increase was 35.9, 103.3, 46.3, 47.3 and 40.0% on the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 10th and 14th days post irradiation respectively, as compared to normal control values. As for free fatty acids content, a significant decrease was observed at the 3rd and 14th days post irradiation, while insignificant changes were recorded on the 1st, 7th and 10th days after irradiation. The treatment of rats with intraperitoneal injection of either vitamin E or testosterone pre-whole body gamma irradiation reduced the changes induced in the levels of studied parameters. The observed recovery was more clearly pronounced in the rats treated with vitamin E than in treated rats with testosterone

Saturnism in the male rat: endocrine effects

The effect of exposure to lead on endocrine function was studied in pubertal rats treated with 1.0 g/l lead acetate (PbAc) in drinkin water for 20 days (subacute group) or 9 months (chronic group) in addition to iv injections of PbAc (0.1mg/100g body weight) every 10(subacute group) or 15 days (chronic group). Although basal levels of testosterone were higher both in the plasma and in the testes of acuctely intoxicated animals, the ciruclating levels of lutinizing hormone (LH) were not affected in either group, nor was the LHRH content of the median eminence. The density of [125I]LH/hCG biding sites in testicular homogenates was reduced by saturnism in both groups. Howeverm the apparent affinity constant of the hormone-receptor complex significantly increased. These data can be viewed as the result of a mixture of specific lead toxicity (e.g., at the enzyme level) with other more general actions (e.g., at the level of the hypothalamus-pituitary-testicular axis)