Effects of carbimazole on morphology of rat adrenals

ABSTRACT

Study was conducted to investigate the effects of [i] carbimazole and [ii] simultaneous administration of thyroxine [thyroid hormone analogue] on the morphology of rat adrenals. Design: A prospective case-control study. Place and Duration of Study Department of Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences Institute [BMSI], JPMC, Karachi, during a peroid of six weeks. Methology The study was conducted on albino rats originally obtained from Charles River Breeding Laboratories, Brooklyn, Massachusetts, USA, and were cross bred, housed and maintained on balanced diet in the Animal House of BMSI, JPMC, Karachi.Eighteen adult albino rats used in the experiment were divided into three groups, i.e. A, B and C, each comprising 6 animals as control, carbimazole-treated, and carbimazole plus thyroxine-treated animals respectively. At the end of six weeks treatment all the animals were sacrificed and their adrenal glands removed, fixed, sectioned and stained with H and E and Sudan black. The histology of adrenals, width of cortex and its zones, and number of cells in different zones of cortex was studied. Carbimazole affects the morphology of adult rat adrenals by decreasing the total width of cortex and its zones especially the zona fasciculata with decrease in number of cells. It also showed the increase in fat contents on Sudan black staining. Carbimazole causes shrinkage of the adrenal cortex