Morphological alterations in the heart and aorta of rats treated with glucocorticoids

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of this study was to analyze the morphological structure of the heart and aorta of rats treated with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone. Material and Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: 08 control rats undergoing treatment with a 0.9% saline solution for 10 days and 08 rats treated for 10 days with dexamethasone (2mg/kg animal weight). Results: Histological analysis detected a mild cardiac hypertrophy and 15% reduction of collagen located in the aorta of animals treated with glucocorticoid when compared to the control group. Conclusion: We conclude that treatment with dexamethasone for a period of 10 consecutive days is able to promote morphological changes in the structure of the heart chamber and, impair morphological structure of aorta.