Sciatic nerve fibres in albino rats after atrazine treatment: a morpho-quantitative study

In this relation the authors present preliminary morpho-quantitative data on the fibres of sciatic nerves of normal albino rats, compared with those of animals treated endoperitoneally with 20 and 40 mg of atrazine. This compound (2 chloro - 4 ethylamino - 6 isopropyl amino-S-triazine) is largely used in agriculture, and recently was suspected to be neurotoxic in man. In order to evaluate its action on the peripheral and central nervous systems, and other organs, a morphological, morpho-quantitative and physiological investigation was planned on groups of untreated and treated albino rats. Our data are concerned with both unmyelinated and myelinated fibres. The areas, the shapes (and their distribution spectra), the perimeter and the possible anisothropy (as a sectioning plane index) of unmyelinated axons were evaluated. These parameters were compared in the groups (treated and untreated) by the usual statistical tests. The axonal and total areas, the thickness of the myelin sheath and the number of myelin lamellae of myelinated fibres were analysed, and the related distribution histograms were carried out. A comparison in the three groups was also made in this case. All the data, particularly those resulting from comparison among the groups, are discussed in terms of the possible neurotoxic action of atrazine.