Effect of Supra-Physiological Doses of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids on the Neuronal Density of the Central and Basolateral Amygdala in Mice

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), despite being controlled by government agencies, are illegally marketed and heavily consumed among youngsters that want a lean, muscular appearance and improved physical performance. Behavioral changes mediated by the amygdala, such as depression, aggressiveness and anxiety, are reported among users. The main scope of this work is to quantify the number of neuron cells on the nuclei of the central (CA) and basolateral (BLA) mice's amygdala submitted to a chronic supra-physiological doses of Durateston® (a combination of testosterone propionate, testosterone isocaproate and testosterone decanoate) and Deca Durabolin® (nandrolone decanoate), administered isolated and combined. For this purpose, 40 Swiss male mice were taken and divided into 4 (four) groups (n = 10): a control group (C), in which mice received saline solution; a Dura group, in which mice received Durateston®; a Deca group, in which mice received Deca Durabolin®; and a Dura-Deca group, in which mice received both drugs. Mice were treated with AAS for a period of 60 days and underwent exercises (swimming). After this time, mice were euthanized and had their brains removed. The material thus obtained was processed in a conventional histological routine. For the neuron cells quantitative analyses, the simple random sampling count method was used. The results showed that there was a significant decrease in the number of neuron cells in all AAS treated animals comparing to the control group; concerning the amygdala basolateral nucleus, the decrease ranged from 23% to 36%, according to the AAS selected group; regarding the amygdala central nucleus, the decrease ranged from 20% to 29%, according to the AAS selected group. One can conclude that the administration of supra-physiological doses of these AAS causes decrease in the number of neuron cells on the central and basolateral nuclei of Swiss male mice's amygdala.