A morphometric study of the inferior olivary nucleus in rats treated prenatally with diclofenac sodium

Abstract

Prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors have been shown to cause central nervous system damage in the developing fetus. This study was designed te investigate the effects of inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis on the neuronal density in the developing inferior olivary nucleus in postnatal life. The prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor, diclofenac sodium, was given intramuscularly (1 mg/kg) to pregnant rats for the period of gestational days 5-19. Controls received physiological saline alone in the same period. On postnatal day 28 offspring were fixed by perfusing 10% buffered-formalin. Paraffin sections of the brainstem were stained with luxol fast blue + neutral red. The cell density in three main subnuclei (the dorsal accessory olive, the principal olive, and the medial accessory olive) of the inferior olivary nucleus was estimated and the data obtained was compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. The cell density in all three subnuclei in the diclofenac treated group was significantly lower than that of the controls. This result suggests that inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis during prenatal life interferes with development of the inferior olivary nucleus and may cause olivocerebellar disorders in postnatal life.