The efficacy of montelukast as a protective agent against 131I-induced salivary gland damage in rats: scintigraphic and histopathological findings

Aim This study was designed to evaluate the efficiency of montelukast as a novel radioprotective agent against sodium [I-131] iodide or potassium [I-131] iodide (I-131)-induced salivary gland damage in a rat model. Materials and methods The function and structure of salivary glands in 50 albino Wistar rats were evaluated with technetium-99m pertechnetate scintigraphies and histopathological examination. The animals were classified into five groups as follows: the control group (sham operated); group 1 (n=10; only I-131 administration), group 2 (n=10; administration with I-131 and montelukast); group 3 (n=10; I-131 administration after total thyroidectomy); and group 4 (n=10; administration with I-131 and montelukast after total thyroidectomy). All rats were killed at the end of the third month and three pairs of salivary glands were removed surgically. Results The scintigraphic evaluation revealed better results for groups administered montelukast than it did for other groups. Statistically significant differences (P<0.05 or P<0.001) were found between the control group and the other groups as well as between groups 1 and 3 (n=20) and groups 2 and 4 (n=20). However, there was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) between groups 1 and 2 (n=20) and groups 3 and 4 (n=20). Histopathological examinations showed that pathological changes were significantly high in the groups treated with I-131 without montelukast when compared with the other groups. Conclusion This is the first study on rats to assess the protective effect of montelukast on salivary glands after I-131 therapy. According to our results, montelukast was found to be a potential protective agent against I-131-induced damage on salivary glands. Nucl Med Commun 34:507-517 (C) 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.