Abstract
BACKGROUND: Absence epilepsy is one of the most common epileptic syndromes and is more common in girls. Often in adolescence, generalized tonic-clonic seizures (up to 50%) join. In women suffering from epilepsy, reproductive dysfunction is often noted. In this regard, it seems relevant to study the morphofunctional state of the ovaries in absence epilepsy.
AIM: Assessment of morphological and morphometric parameters of the ovaries in absence epilepsy.
MATERIALS AND METODS: Using histological and morphometric methods, the ovaries of Wistar and WAG/Rij rats (a genetic model of human absence epilepsy) were studied.
RESULTS: In WAG/Rij rats, destruction of the cortical and medulla of the ovary was found: the layer of granulosa cells surrounding the oocyte had a looser structure compared to the norm, destructive changes in the follicular epithelium and apoptotic death of granulosa cells were observed. Morphometric analysis showed that in WAG/Rij rats the weight of the ovaries was 2 times less than in Wistar rats: 37.300.93 mg versus 55.842.36 mg. The thickness of the epithelial layer was 7.810.25 m, which is 26.2% less than in Wistar rats (p 0.05). The ovarian follicles of WAG/Rij rats were irregular in shape, smaller in diameter and area, and the numerical density of all types of follicles was lower compared to Wistar rats, which indicates a violation of ovulation processes.
CONCLUSION: Structural and quantitative changes in the ovaries of WAG/Rij rats were observed in absence epilepsy, which indicates violations of the endocrine function of the ovaries and process of folliculogenesis.