Effects of Methamphetamine on Pituitary Gonadal Axis and Spermatogenesis in Mature Male Rats

Background: The use of methamphetamine has been significantly increased among youth in the last decade. Methamphetamine stimulates the central nervous system and affects on the body tissues and neurotransmitters like dopamine. In this study, the effect of methamphetamine as a medicine of amphetamine group is investigated on the pituitary-gonad axis and spermatogenesis. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 40 mature rats with 150±10 g weight are divided into in 4 groups including 10 rats in each group. Methamphetamine powder was weighted and it was solved in the normal saline to prepare a standard solution. Three experimental groups were injected in dosage 1, 3, 5 mg/kg using insulin syringe for 14 days, every day. Then, FSH, LH and testosterone concentrations were measured from the blood samples. The testis tissue was removed and after sectioning and staining by Hematoxylin-Eosin, was inspected by optical microscope for any changes. The average values of hormones and number of seminiferous cells were analyzed in SPSS-18 software using Duncan-test. Results: Experimental results showed that by increasing the concentration of methamphetamine, the serum level of LH and testosterone increase. While the FSH concentration decrease by increasing the level of methamphetamine. Also, investigation on the testis tissue showed that spermatogenesis has decreased on it in comparison to control group. This is because of methamphetamine effect on the gonads. Conclusion: The hormonal results and microscopic observations, it can conclude that using methamphetamine may cause destructive effects on pituitary-gonad axis and spermatogenesis and as a result, it may decrease fertility.