You have accessJournal of UrologyAdrenal: Surgery/Tumors/Benign and Malignant Disease1 Apr 201032 PREPUBERTAL STRESS DIMINISHES THE NUMBER OF GLOMERULI IN RATS Diogo de Souza, Camila M. Silva, Dilson Silva, Francisco J. Sampaio, Waldemar S. Costa, and Célia Cortez Diogo de SouzaDiogo de Souza More articles by this author , Camila M. SilvaCamila M. Silva More articles by this author , Dilson SilvaDilson Silva More articles by this author , Francisco J. SampaioFrancisco J. Sampaio More articles by this author , Waldemar S. CostaWaldemar S. Costa More articles by this author , and Célia CortezCélia Cortez More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2010.02.076AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Chronic stress causes major organic changes influencing hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis as well as other systems. This leads to an increase in morbidity and mortality due to depression, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Although the effects of stress in diverse organs have been well studied, its effects on the kidney are poorly known. Therefore, we were prompted to evaluate stress induced structural changes on kidney of prepubertal rats. METHODS We studied 8 male Wistar rats subjected to restraint stress for 2 hours daily in the morning from fourth to ninth week of life. Then they were killed and both kidneys were removed, dissected, weighed and formalin fixed. Seven rats of the same age were used as control. The chronic stress was confirmed by adrenal mass index and serum testosterone. The number of glomeruli was estimated by stereologic methods, based on the evaluation of renal volume, cortical-medullary ratio, glomerular volume density (Vv [glom]) and volume weighted glomerular volume (VWGV). Student's t test was used for statistical analysis (p<0.05). RESULTS The adrenal mass index and testosterone level alterations confirmed that the stress protocol was effective (Table 1). The stressed animals had a significant decrease in body weight, kidney weight and volume, cortical volume and Vv [glom]. VWGV did not differ between groups (Table 2). The stressed group showed a 45% reduction in the number of glomeruli per kidney (Graphic 1). CONCLUSIONS Chronic stress in prepubertal rats leads to significant reduction in the number of nephrons, which might predispose these individuals to renal disease in adult life. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil© 2010 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 183Issue 4SApril 2010Page: e14 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2010 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Diogo de Souza More articles by this author Camila M. Silva More articles by this author Dilson Silva More articles by this author Francisco J. Sampaio More articles by this author Waldemar S. Costa More articles by this author Célia Cortez More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...