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Abstract

Abstract


Objective:To study the teratogenic risk of Doxycycline administration during gestation on skeletal differentiation. Design: An animal study carried out on experimental Albino rat.
Setting:The study was carried out in the Department of Anatomy Basic Medical Sciences Institute, Jinnah Postgradute Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi from June 1999 to May 2000.
Methods:Doxycycline was given to pregnant female Albino rats in a dose of 8mg/kg intraperitoneally from day 8th to 19th of gestation. The intact rat fetuses were isolated on days 15th to 19th of gestation and pups on 1st postnatal day. These animals were then killed by deep ether anesthesia and fixed in 80% alcohol. They were then bulk stained with alizarin red S and alcian blue. Finally they were cleared in 4% KOH and stored in glycerin. The fore and hind limbs were disarticulated from the axial skeleton and observed under stereomicroscope for evidence of skeletal differentiation in the form of presence of primary ossification centers in long bones. The time of appearance of these centers were noted and compared statistically with those in the control animals.
Results:The study revealed that the skeletal differentiation in long bones was delayed in experimental animals as compared with controls.
Conclusion:Doxycycline administration during pregnancy presents a risk to skeletal differentiation and therefore to its growth