Effect of exogenous dexamethasone and corticosterone on weight gain and organ growth in post-hatched white Leghorn chicks.

ABSTRACT

Induced chronic hypocorticalism by dexamethasone (DXM) and hypercorticalism by corticosterone (CORT) retarded body weight gain as well as the growth of spleen, bursa, liver, kidney and pancreas during the first month of development in male leghorn chicks. Adrenal weight was reduced by DXM and increased by CORT. Correspondingly, there were histological regressive changes in the cortex with a decreased cortico-medullary ratio with DXM treatment, while a reverse trend was there with CORT treatment. However, an increase in weight of testis and better organization of seminiferous cords and interstitium was observed in DXM treated chicks, and there was a decrease in weight and poor histological organization in CORT treated chicks. Both DXM and CORT induced stimulatory changes in thyroid denoted by increased epithelial cell height and decreased colloidal content. These observations indicate that corticosteroids have definite influence on post-hatched growth and maturation of chicks.