title: Histopathological change of the endocrine pancreas in male albino rat treated with the atypical antipsychotic clozapine.
abstract: Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic. It is the best option in treatment of resistant schizophrenia. It causes many metabolic side effects, including diabetes mellitus. This study aims to detect the histopathological change of the rat pancreas under chronic clozapine treatment. Twenty adult male albino rats were divided into two groups; control; received daily 2 mL tap water by intragastric tube for 21 days, and treated; received instead 25 mg/kg clozapine in 2 mL tap water. Animals were sacrificed and specimens from the pancreatic tails were processed for histopathological and morphometric studies. In treated animals, the islets were large and irregular. Most interlobular and interlobar ducts were dilated and some showed a related area of endocrine-like cells, which was sometimes immunoreactive to the anti-insulin antibody. Masson's trichrome revealed increased interlobular and interacinar collagen fibers. PAS stain revealed an increase in the thickness of the islet capillary basement membrane. Immunohistochemical staining with anti-insulin antibody showed strong staining of the islets of treated animals. Morphometric study revealed a highly significant increase in the number of both islets and interlobular ducts/lobule and in the diameter of both islets and interlobular ducts. It also revealed a highly significant increase in the diameter of the periductal fibrotic area and in the thickness of the islets capillary basement membrane in treated animals. In conclusion, chronic clozapine treatment caused changes in the pancreas similar to those occur in diabetes in the form of islets hyperplasia overlapped by atrophic changes as fibrosis and thickening of islets capillaries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology, Qena Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Egypt. emaneweda@yahoo.com
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Abdelrahim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002452:Cell Count; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D003024:Clozapine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D005355:Fibrosis; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D003024:Clozapine