Cambios histológicos inducidos por ototoxicidad en ratas. Citoarquitectura del órgano de corti y del ganglio espiral

Abstract

Damage induced by ototoxic therapeutic drugs is among the main causes of auditive losses in humans. The objective of this work was to explore the temporal dynamics of an ototoxic treatment with kanamycin and furosemide on the cytoarchitecture of the organ of Corti and the spiral ganglion in adult rats. Cochlear sections from deaf rats (removed at 2,4, 8 and 16 weeks of deafness) and from healthy rats (taken at -2 and 16 weeks- beginning and end of the experiment) were obtained and studied by Light Microscopy. Spiral ganglion cell density was evaluated by computerized morphometry in the basal, medial and apical cochlear turns. The following results were obtained: 1) Degenerative changes were observed in the organ of Corti since the second week of deafness. 2) Since the eighth week the ototoxic treatment induced reduction of spiral ganglion cell density together with loss of peripheral processes innervating the organ of Corti in the three cochlear turns 3) Neuronal density reduction has occurred following a morphological gradient from apex to base.