Abstract

HERRERA BATISTA, Aleida; LEBREDO ALVAREZ, Isis; FALCON VILAU, Leonel  and  BACALLAO GALLESTEY, Jorge. Morphometic characteristics of the aorta of rabbits subjected to ethanol intake and hypercholesterolemic diet since adolescence. Rev Cubana Invest Bioméd [online]. 2007, vol.26, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3011.

The effects of ethanol on the macroscopic and microscopic morphometric variables in the aortas of rabbits that take hypercholesterolemic diet during adolescence were determined to evaluate the possible protective effect of ethanol against atherosclerosis. Twenty two 100 days-old male rabbits were divided into 4 groups and treated with ethanol, hypercholesterolemic diet, ethanol and hypercholesterolemic diet, and a control group. The experiment lasted 16 weeks. The following morphometric variables were evaluated: relative surfaces occupied by adipose streaks, intimal thickness and number of foamy cells. The animals treated with hypercholesterolemic diet showed higher values than those of untreated rabbits, which evidenced greater alterations in the aorta intima. The intake of moderate ethanol doses did not prevent the development of aortic lesions. These results revealed that ethanol does not have an efficient protective effect, at least at the dose and conditions used in this experiment.

Keywords : Adolescence; alcoholism; aorta; atherosclerosis; hypercholesterolemic diet; morphometrics.

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