Effects of sodium nitrite-induced hypoxia on cerebellar Purkinje cells in adult rats

To explore the changes in Purkinje cells in adult rats after inducing chemical hypoxia by sodium nitrite Adult male albino rats, weighing 180-200 gm were used in this study. The animals were fasted for three hours prior to drugs administration. One hour after sodium nitrite [75 mg/kg] subcutaneous injection, rats were decapitated. The brains were removed and placed overnight in fixative containing 10% formalin. Cerebellum were paraffin-embedded for hematoxylin and eosin staining and cut at 5 micro m in the coronal plane. Fifty Purkinje cells along the line of cells from two randomly chosen portions of each section were counted at a magnification of x20. Cells in a total of five sections were counted to compute the ratio of damaged cells to intact neurons. There was no marked difference in the general appearance and thickness of the cerebellar cortices of the control and the sodium nitrite treated rats. The principal findings in the treated group were that almost all the Purkinje cells showed autolytic changes. Their arrangement as a single layer was also deranged in certain areas. Some areas showed complete loss of Purkinje neurons. Sodium nitrite-induced hypoxia results in severe damage to the Purkinje neurons