The effect of flurbiprofen on the development of anencephaly in early stage chicken embryos

Abstract

Objective. The study investigated the effect of flurbiprofen on the development of anencephaly in early stage chicken embryos. Material and methods. We looked at four groups with a total of 36 embryos. There was a control group, a normal saline group, a normal-dose group and a high-dose group with ten, ten, eight and eight eggs with embryo respectively. Results. Two embryos in the control group, studied with light microscopy at 48 h, were consistent with 28–29 hours’ incubation in the Hamburger–Hamilton System. They had open neural tubes. The other embryos in this group were considered normal. One embryo in the normal saline group was on the occlusion stage at 48 h. One embryo showed an open neural tube. They were compatible with 28–29 hours’ incubation in the Hamburger–Hamilton system. The remaining eight embryos showed normal development. In the normal dose group, one embryo showed underdevelopment of the embryonic disc and the embryo was dead. In four embryos, the neural tubes were open. One cranial malformation was found that was complicated with anencephaly in one embryo. In two embryos the neural tubes were closed, as they showed normal development, and they reached their expected stages according to the Hamburger–Hamilton classification. There was no malformation or growth retardation. Four experimental embryos were anencephalic in the high dose group, and three embryos had open neural tubes. One embryo exhibited both anencephaly and a neural tube closure defect. None of the embryos in this group showed normal development. Conclusions. Even the usual therapeutic doses of flurbiprofen increased the risk of neural tube defect. Flurbiprofen was found to significantly increase the risk of anencephaly. The provision of improved technical materials and studies with larger sample sizes will reveal the stage of morphological disruption during the development of embryos.

Keywords::

• anencephaly
• chicken embryo
• flurbiprofen
• in-vitro fertilization
• NTD

Declaration of interest: The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.