Castration induces progressive increase in the carotid intima-medial thickness of the male rat

Year 2018, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 65 - 70, 15.08.2018

İsaac Cheruiyot , Beda Olabu Martin Kamau Kevin Ongeti Pamela Mandela

Abstract

Objectives: The role of androgens in the development of cardiovascular diseases remains controversial. The current study

therefore aimed to determine the changes in the carotid intima-medial thickness of the male rat in surgically-induced hypogonadism.

Methods: Twenty-two Rattus norvegicus male rats aged two months were used. The rats were randomly assigned into baseline

(4), experimental (9) and control (9) groups. Hypogonadism was surgically induced in the experimental group by bilateral

orchiectomy under local anesthesia. At experiment weeks 3, 6 and 9, three rats from each group (experimental and control) were

euthanized, their common carotid artery harvested, and routine processing was done for paraffin embedding, sectioning and

staining. The photomicrographs were taken using a digital photomicroscope for morphometric analysis.

Results: The mean carotid intima-median thickness was 321.97 μm at baseline. There was a progressive increase in the carotid

intima-median thickness by 17.6%, 37% and 67.1% of the baseline values in the castrated group at the end of the third, sixth

and ninth week respectively (p<0.001). Although the carotid intima-median thickness increased in the non-castrated group with

increasing duration of the study, these increases were not statistically significant (p=0.110). The increase in carotid intima-median

thickness was associated with hyperplasia of the intimal layer as well as increased deposition of collagen fibers in the medial

layer.

Conclusion: Androgen deprivation by surgical castration induces a progressive increase in the carotid intima-median thickness.

This may constitute an anatomical basis for the higher predisposition of hypogonadal males to cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords

androgens, carotid intima-medial thickness, castration, cardiovascular disease, hypogonadism

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