[Determining of methamphetamine effects on sperm parameters of mature rat]

ABSTRACT

Methamphetamine [MAMP] is a central nervous system stimulant, but it is increasingly abused as a psychedelic tablet by teenagers and young adults. In this experimental study, we evaluate the effects of MAMP on sperm parameters of mature rat. MAMP or saline were injected in three experiments as follow In the first experiment, twenty-four rats were injected one time with 10mg/kg MAMP, and sperms were sampled from tail of epididymis 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 168 h after injection [n=4, at each time]. Six rats injected with saline served as controls. In the second experiment, four groups of rats each consisting of four rats were administered MAMP [5, 10 and 15 mg/kg] or saline, respectively, and examined 24h later. In the third experiment, 16 rats were evenly divided into four groups [1, 5, and 10 mg/kg MAMP and control] and were injected MAMP or saline once daily for 14 consecutive days [spermatogenesis period] and sperms were sampled 24 h after the last injection. The motility, concentration and morphology of the sampled sperms were evaluated. We also measured the body and testis weights and used the testis/body weight ratio as an index at the end of each experiment. At 24 and 48 h after injection with a single dose of 10 mg/kg MAMP, the number of sperms decreased significantly in comparison with controls [P dose [P similar but the decrease of sperms number was more than that in the second experiment. MAMP did not change the testis/body weight ratio in the first and second experiments, but it significantly decreased this index in rats of the third experiment which received 10 and 5 mg/kg MAMP daily. We did not observe differences between experimental and control groups in motility and morphology of sperms. Our results indicate that the repeated administration and/or higher doses of MAMP reduce the number of mature sperms in the tail of epididymis and have adverse effects on the reproduction and fertility of MAMP users