Introduction: Chloroquine phosphate (CQP) and hydroxychloroquine sulfate
(HCS) are antimalarial drugs commonly used for treatment of malaria and numerous
rheumatic diseases. Their widespread prescriptions may accompany with prolonged
duration of therapy and higher daily dosages, leading to several toxic effects, including
disturbance of reproductive system. Aim of the study: The present study was
designed to compare the effect of six-week exposure to CQP and HCS on reproductive
function of adult male albino rats. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted
on 30 normal adult male albino rats divided equally into 3 groups (10 rats each), the
Control-group (C-group) was given 1 ml of distilled water orally, whereas the CQPgroup (62 mg/kg/b. wt. ) and HCS-group (124 mg/kg/b. wt. ) were given single daily
oral doses equivalent to 1/10
th
of LD
50
of each drug for 6 consecutive weeks then all
animals sacrificed. The serum levels of testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and
follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), quality of epididymal sperm (count, motility,
viability, and morphology), degeneration severity of seminiferous tubules (SNT) and
Leydig cells count per each animal, semi-quantitative scoring of SNT and Leydig cells
histopathological changes, spermatogenesis maturity levels, and structural and
ultrastructural morphologies of tissues were estimated. Results: The CQP-group
showed severe orchidotoxic effects as manifested by statistically significant reductions
in final weight gains of body, testes, and epididymis, all sperm quality, and all
hormone levels, marked increases in the number of animals associated with SNT
degeneration and reduced Leydig cells count, statistically significant increases in
abnormalities of SNT and Leydig cells architectures, statistically significant decrease
of spermatogenesis maturity levels, and extensive structural and ultrastructural
changes in testicular parenchyma and interstitial tissues as compared to C-group and
HCS-group. While, HCS-group displayed minor orchidotoxic effects as evidenced by
insignificant changes in most of the evaluated parameters, significant reductions of LH
and FSH levels, slight increases in the number of animals accompanied with SNT
degeneration and reduced Leydig cells count, and minor changes of structural and
ultrastructural testicular tissue architectures as compared to C-group. Conclusion,
these results suggest that CQP has more orchidotoxic effects than HCS, and in terms
of therapeutic usage, physicians should better prescribe HCS as it appears safer than
CQP. Also, assessment of male reproductive functions should be done periodically for
patients receiving both drugs for prolonged time, especially CQP, as they may induce
endocrine disruptions. |
