Neurotoxic Effects of Stanozolol on Male Rats‘ Hippocampi: Does Stanozolol cause apoptosis?

Stanozolol is an anabolic-androgenic steroid which is commonly abused by athletes for improved energy, appearance, and physical size. It has been previously shown to cause changes in behaviour and has various physical effects. Studies have previously been conducted on its neurotoxic effect on the central nervous system (CNS), which are typically psychological in nature. This study was performed to investigate the apoptotic effect of stanozolol on different parts of the rat hippocampus. Sixteen male Wistar rats were divided randomly into two groups (experimental and control). The experimental group received subcutaneous injections of stanozolol (5mg/kg/day) for consecutive 28 days, whereas the control group received saline using the same dosing schedule and administration route. After routine procedures, coronal sections of rat brain were stained with Toluidine blue and TUNEL for pre-apoptotic and apoptotic cell detection, respectively. In order to compare groups, the mean number of TUNEL-positive and pre-apoptotic neurons per unit area were calculated and analysed. Histopathological examination revealed that the mean number of pre-apoptotic and apoptotic neurons in the CA1, CA2, CA3 and DG areas of the hippocampus were significantly increased in the stanozolol treated group. In conclusion, stanozolol abuse may induce pre-apoptotic and apoptotic cell formation in different regions of the hippocampus.