Histological changes in testes of rats treated with testosterone, nandrolone, and stanozolol

BACKGROUND Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) is being used in medical treatments, but AAS also was identified to have the risks of adverse effects towards patients and consumers health. OBJECTIVE Present study was conducted to observe the effects of testosterone, nandrolone, and stanozolol (forms of AAS) intake during onset of puberty on the rat testicular histology. MATERIALS AND METHODS Juvenile male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (n=42) were divided into seven groups and were injected subcutaneously with medium dose of polyethylene glycol-200 (PEG-200) (control), testosterone, nandrolone, and stanozolol for six weeks (PND 41-87). The animals were weighed daily and sacrificed on PND 88. Testes were removed, weighed, and prepared for histological assessment and finally specimens were observed under microscope. RESULTS The results showed an insignificant increase in mean daily body weight with highest and lowest body weight gained was of 177.6±1.69 gr and 140.0±12.26 gr respectively. There was significant decrease in the testes absolute weight (p≤0.01) in all experimental groups except in the nandrolone 2.5 mg/kg/week treated group. Testicular histology of rats treated with AAS also showed slight changes in the uniformity of arrangements of seminiferous tubules. CONCLUSION Data from present study suggests that AAS have been initiating the adverse effects on testicular normal functions in rats during onset of puberty.