The effect of nandrolone decanoate on liver of rabbitsusing histological and ultrasound methods

Abstract

Objective: To compare the effects of nandrolone decanoate on the liver structure in male and female rabbits using histological and ultrasound examinations.Materials and methods: Forty-eight adult rabbits were divided into two groups, male and female groups, each included 24 adult healthy rabbits. The male group was subdivided into 4 subgroups, group A was the control group which received only normal saline, group B was given nandrolone decanoate 2mg/kg body weight, group C was given 4 mg/kg body weight of nandrolone decanoate, while group D was given 6 mg/kg body weight of the drug. The female group was also subdivided into 4 subgroups, group A1 was the control group, group B1 was given 2 mg/kg body weight, group C1 was given 4 mg/kg body weight, group D1 was given 6 mg/kg body weight of nandrolone decanoate.Results: All treated groups of both sexes showed a significant increase in body and liver weights in addition to dose related pathological changes ranging from mild to severe form, including vacuolar degeneration and fatty degenerative changes of hepatocytes. In addition, there was a dilatation and congestion of sinusoids, central venules and portal veins with mononuclear inflammatory cells infiltration. Focal areas of necrosis with chronic inflammatory cells infiltration were also noticed in different hepatic lobules. In spite of these histological changes in the liver no abnormal ultrasound findings of the liver were noticed.Conclusion: These changes indicate that the histological effects of the anabolic androgenic steroid nandrolone decanoate on the liver of adult male and female rabbits is the same in both sexes, but the treated female rabbit groups of medium and high doses (C1 and D1) showed more increase in body weight than male rabbit groups. There is no correlation between histological and ultrasound findingsKeywords: Nandrolone decanoate, liver histology, rabbits.