STUDY OF THE PRENATAL EFFECT OF DIABETES MELLITUS ON THE CRANIAL NEURAL CREST DERIVATIVES IN RATS AND THE MODULATING ROLE OF VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENTATION

Abstract

One hundred and twenty adult albino rats of both sexes (100 females and 20 males) were used in the present study. The rats were classified into three groups, Group I (control) of 20 rats, Group II (diabetic) of 50 rats were made diabetic with a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin 40mg/kg and group III (diabetic with vitamin E) of 30 rats which were made diabetic and were given vitamin Eby a gastric tube once daily in a dose 400mg/day from the first day of pregnancy until the 20"day. The pregnant rats in all three groups were anaesthetized by ether and then dissected at gestational days 10, 16 and 20. Fetuses at gestational days 16 & 20 were examined morphologicaly, fetuses at gestational day 16 were examined histologicaly by haematoxylin and eosin stain and fetuses at gestational day 20 were examined by alizarin red for skeletal tissues. Specimens from embryos and fetuses at gestational days l 0 & 16 respectively were prepared for electron microscopic examination.