Comparative study on the effect of long-term administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs meloxicam and ketoprofen on the structure of the kidney and gastric mucosa in the adult albino rats

ABSTRACT

Ketoprofen is a widely used drug related to the group of the traditional non selective non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs [NSAIDs]. Meloxicam is related to the group of the cyclooxygenase-2 [COX-2] selective inhibitors which is a newer version of NSAIDs. To demonstrate and compare the effects of long-term administration of meloxicam and ketoprofen on the structure of the kidney and gastric mucosa in the healthy adult rats. A total number of 36 adult male albino rats were used in this study. They were equally divided into three groups. Group I was considered as a control. Group II included the rats treated with ketoprofen in a dose of 1mg/kg orally once daily for 10 weeks by a gastric tube, Group III included the rats treated with meloxicam in a dose of 0.2 mg/kg orally once daily for 10 weeks via gastric tube. At the end of the experiment animals were sacrificed and specimens of the kidney and stomach were processed for light and scanning electron microscopic studies. Some kidney specimens were also processed to be studied by transmission electron microscopy. The diameter of renal corpuscles was measured in the three studied groups and statistically analyzed. In ketoprofen treated rats [group II] the renal corpuscles exhibited marked shrinkage of glomeruli. Many renal tubules appeared to be lined with damaged epithelium. Ultrastructural study of the lining cells of the proximal and distal convoluted tubules revealed that the degenerative changes involved both the nucleus and the cytoplasmic organelles. The interstitial tissue had focal areas of fibrosis. In the meloxicam treated rats [group III], there was little shrinkage of the glomeruli. However, the interstitial tissue showed heavy cellular infiltration. SEM study revealed an enlargement of the processes of the podocytes with loss of their pedicles. The gastric mucosa in group II showed an extensive damage to the surface epithelial cells in the form of ulcers while in group III there was patchy areas of epithelial destruction. This study demonstrated that long-term administration of COX-2 selective inhibitors exerted deleterious effects on the kidney comparable to those exerted by the nonselective NSAIDs. However, their damaging effect on the gastric mucosa appeared to be less than the nonselective NSAIDs but it was not abolished