Yafteh

Background: Psychostimulant amphetamine (Ecstasy and Crystal meth or n-methyl-1- phenyl-propan-2- amine) abuse has been prevalent among the youth of Iran in recant years. These substances have many adverse and destructive effects on several organs. Therefore, this study was done to determine the effect of crystal meth on pituitary-gonadal axis in adult male rats. Material and Methods: 28 male adult rats were divided into four groups normal control group, and 5, 10 and 15 mg/kg bw Crystal meth-treatment groups. Animals in the Crystal meth-treated groups received 5, 10 and 15 mg/kg bw of Crystal meth intraperitoneally for seven days. After 7 days, blood sample was taken from the left ventricle of the animal's heart and LH, FSH and testosterone concentration were measured using ELISA kit. The SPSS-16 statistical software was used to analyze data. All data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the differences were considered significant at the p<0.05 level. Results: Testosterone hormone concentration significantly increased in experimental groups (10 and 15 mg/kg bw) in comparison with control group (P<0.05). Concentrations of FSH and LH in the experimental groups (5, 10 and 15 mg/kg bw) significantly reduced in comparison with control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: According to the hormonal examinations, we concluded that the use of Crystal meth causes destructive effects on the male pituitary-gonadal axis.