Objective: The possible preventive effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in gentamicin ototoxicity was studied with auditory brain stem responses (ABRs), otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), and histopathological investigation of the cochlea.
Materials and methods: This study is conducted on 36 rats in three groups. Gentamicin, gentamicin plus NAC, and NAC alone were intraperitoneally administered for 15 days. The rats were sacrificed to study the cochleas after testing hearing levels.
Results: ABR thresholds and OAEs were attenuated in the gentamicin group, in which apoptosis was detected with histopathological investigation. The group that received NAC in addition to gentamicin had better ABR thresholds and better OAEs. The histopathological evidence of apoptosis in was considerably less in this group.
Conclusion: Gentamicin ototoxicity can be detected by ABR and OAE testing in rats, and NAC may protect the cochlear cells from apoptosis.