ARTICLE |
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Year : 2009 | Volume
: 11
| Issue : 43 | Page : 118--123 |
Chronic exposure of rats to occupational textile noise causes cytological changes in adrenal cortex
Maria Joao R Oliveira1, Mariana P Monteiro1, Andreia M Ribeiro1, Duarte Pignatelli2, Artur P Aguas1
1 Department of Anatomy and UMIB (Unit for Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research) of ICBAS, Portugal 2 Institute of Histology Professor Abel Salazar, Medical Faculty, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Correspondence Address:
Maria Joao R Oliveira Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Largo Prof. Abel Salazar, 2, 4099-003 Porto Portugal
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1463-1741.50697
Chronic exposure to industrial noise and its effects on biological systems. Occupational exposure to noise may result in health disorders. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of chronic exposure to high-intensity noise of textile industry cotton rooms on the adrenal morphology. The environmental noise of a cotton-mill room from a large textile factory of Northern Portugal was recorded and reproduced by an adopted electroacoustic setup in a sound-insulated animal room where the rats were housed. The sounds were reproduced at the original levels of approximately 92 dB, which was achieved by equalization and distribution of sound output in the room. Wistar rats were submitted to noise exposure, in the same time schedule as employed in textile plants. After one, three, five, and seven months, the adrenals were collected and analyzed by light microscopy. Analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance and post hoc Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons of the means between the groups. Noise exposure induced time-dependent changes in adrenal cortex, with decrease of zona fasciculata (ZF) and increase of zona reticularis volumes, together with a significant depletion of lipid droplet density in ZF cells of exposed rats, in comparison to control rats. Chronic exposure of rats to textile industry noise triggers cytological changes in the adrenals that suggest the existence of a sustained stress response.
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