Gender-dependent micromorphometric alterations in the brain of diabetic rats.
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of diabetes on the brain structure in rats and to compare the brain alterations in the two genders. Twenty adult female and the same number of male Sprague Dawley rats were divided in four groups (5 males and 5 females in each). Diabetes was induced in 3 groups by alloxan (single intraperitoneal injection of 145 mg/kg alloxan tetrahydrate). Rats with blood glucose above 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) for at least one week were considered as diabetic and were chosen for experiment. All animals were housed under the same conditions but for different periods of time (30, 60 and 90 days). Body weights were measured before and after the experiment. After the experiment, animals were anaesthesised, sacrificed and brains were collected to determine various histological parameters using histological techniques. Results revealed a decrease in male and female diabetics’ final body weight compared to that of controls. The thickness and the number of cells in the gray matter and the white matter were reduced in all test groups. In females, the thickness of white matter and the cell numbers of the gray and white matters were decreased more than in male rats. According to our results, diabetes exhibited deleterious effects on male and female rat brains, although these effects were more serious in female rats.
Author: Hooman Hematian
Language: English
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W24985882