ABSENCE OF FERTILITY EFFECTS IN PARACETAMOL AND IBUPROFEN PRE-TREATED MICE

Abstract

Mice treatment with anti-inflammatory medications can be a routine procedure in mouse facilities. In some cases, these animals can be used to perform breeding pairs, and nothing is known about any deleterious pre-treatment effect on their fertility. Our goal was to evaluate anti-fertility effects of paracetamol and ibuprofen if administered before mating. Female Swiss mice were treated either with paracetamol or with ibuprofen, prior to mating. After mating, the number of pregnant females, fetuses, and spontaneous fetal reabsorptions were counted. Neither pre-mating treatments produced measurable differences in the proportions of pregnant females, number of fetuses, or fetal reabsorptions when compared to the non-treated control or vehicle-treated (PBS) groups. Thus, continuous treatments of either paracetamol or ibuprofen may not induce permanent physiological changes that interfere with the female fertility if the treatments are interrupted during the mating period.