Resumen

MENDOZA, C. et al. Daño cardíaco provocado por albendazol en fetos de ratones. Rev. vet. [online]. 2015, vol.26, n.1, pp.17-21. ISSN 1669-6840.

Intestinal parasitic diseases are disorders caused by protozoa and helminths. These diseases lead to nutritional deterioration because parasites cause nutrient scavenging from hosts. For parasite control drugs such as albendazole are used. Short-term adverse effects include gastrointestinal alterations while longterm use has been associated with teratogenic effects. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of albendazole on mice fetal heart development. Ten NMRI female mice with an average weight of 40 g were selected. They were divided into two groups (control and experimental) of 5 animals each. After pregnancy was detected the experimental group was given albendazole (5 mg/kg liveweight) orally at 9, 10 and 11 days of gestation. Body weight was monitored every three days. At birth the pups were sacrificed, the heart was dissected and morphometric, morphological and histopathological analysis were performed. No statistical difference was found between the average daily gain of mothers in each group. The number of offspring was higher for the group that received albendazole, but individual weight was lower. It also became clear that hearts´ width and length were higher for the offspring of untreated compared to treated mothers (3x4 mm and 2x3 mm respectively, p≤0.05), in correspondence to the considered average cardiac volume (p≤0.01). Histopathological analysis revealed myxoid degeneration of myocardial fibers of fetuses in the experimental group. These results demonstrate that albendazole caused teratogenic effects in mice pups, aspect that should be considered regarding the possible risks of its use during gestation in other species

Palabras clave : mouse; pregnancy; albendazole; fetal teratogeny; heart degeneration.

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