Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) disrupts estrous cycling pattern following dysregulations of reproductive hormones in female Sprague-Dawley Rat
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60787/tnhj.v24i3.843Keywords:
HAART, infertility, estrous cycle, estrogen, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormoneAbstract
Background: The transmission of HIV is a global crisis with females being more vulnerable to the infection. Currently, there is no known cure for HIV but fortunately, highly active antiretroviral (HAART) drugs have enhanced the well-being of infected patients and also reduced mother to child transmission. Hence, high desire of infected couples to procreate. However, there is an emerging trend of infertility indices in HIV infected women on HAART with pronounced miscarriage, menstrual irregularities and reduced pregnancy rate. This study investigated the effects of HAART on some reproductive hormones and the corresponding effects on estrous cycle and fertility.
Method: Twenty female rats were randomly divided into treatment group A and control group B of ten rats each. Group A animals received 1.88mg of HAART dissolved in 0.1mls of normal saline water while group B received 0.1mls of normal saline (placebo) to ensure uniformity. The first five sub-sets were used for experimentation while the second sub-set of five were used to assess the eventual impact on pregnancy outcome.
Result: The findings showed the alterations in estrogen, FSH and LH levels with disruption of estrous cycling and reduction in pregnancy rate in the HAART treated group when compared with the control.
Conclusion: The current study demonstrated dysregulation of reproductive hormones and its consequential disruption on estrous cycle and pregnancy outcome. Further investigation is needed on hormone activation at their receptor sites for comprehensive understanding of the mode of actions of HAART for modification of treatment regimen.
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