[Development of young rabbits exposed to an intense electric field]

Newborn rabbits were exposed 18 hours a day for 6 weeks to an intense electric field; then they were killed, the body weight and the weights of the main organs had the same values as the control ones. The compositions of liver and interscapular brown fat were not modified. There was no significant effect of the electric field either on plasma levels of ACTH, GH, T3, T4, corticosterone, cortisol or on plasma levels of glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol. The histology of thyroid and adrenals showed no evident alterations. Ultrastructural examinations of the cerebellum did not show the previously described alterations observed in Purkinje nerve cells. It is concluded that in the present experimental conditions, the chronic exposure of newborn rabbits to an intense electric field did not modify the biological and structural parameters which were examined and had no effect on the animal growth and development.