The Effects of Methadone and Buprenorphine on Testis of Rats

I am writing in response to the article, “A quantitative and qualitative study of rat testis following administration of methadone and buprenorphine” by Zahra Heidari, Hamidreza Mahmoudzadeh-Sagheb & Farhad Kohan in Volume 1(1): 14-17, 2012 (1). This article is addresses an important subject, that of hypogonadism and other changes in seminiferous tubules and testis after administration of methadone or buprenorphine in rats. The subject is important given that opiate use itself has been shown to cause low FT levels in men and therefore should be examined systematically to see how to prevent hormonal issues for drug-using men (2). The authors do not note any quantitative differences between groups on testis volume in this study however, indicating that possibly the dosage of methadone and buprenorphine given were not sufficient to produce those changes. Conversely, histopathology did show qualitative changes, which are reported but not qualified as significant or not. It is unclear what the measures of significance for these changes in rat’s testis are. The figures presented show that there are changes, it is not Published by Kowsar. 2012.