NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF 17ß-ESTRADIOL IN A RAT MODEL OF NEONATAL X RADIATION

CACERES, LG; AÓN, L; SARACENO, E; CAPANI, F; GUELMAN, LR

Tandil, Pcia de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Congreso; XL Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Farmacología Experimental; 2008

Sociedad Argentina de Farmacología Experimental

Developing Central Nervous System (CNS) is vulnerable to radiation-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS). The consequent oxidative stress has been shown to produce changes at behavioral, biochemical and histological levels in cerebellum (CE) and hippocampus (HIP). The aim of the present work was to test if 17ß-estradiol, a potential neuroprotector, was able to counteract these changes. Neonatal male Wistar rats were X-irradiated (5 Gy) in their cephalic ends up to 48hs of postnatal life and a group of this animals was treated with 17ß-estradiol (5µg/g). Open field (OF) test, ROS levels, as well as a histological assessment, were performed at 30 postnatal days. Administration of 17ß-estradiol improved the short-term habituation and decreased the time spent in the centre in the OF. ROS levels returned to control in HIP and the cytoarchitecture of CE was reconstituted. These results suggest that 17ß-estradiol was able to counteract the effects of X-rays at behavioral, biochemical and histological levels, probably acting through an antioxidant mechanism.