Effect of Lamotrigine on Fetal Rat Brain.docVIP

Research Article Effect of Lamotrigine on Fetal Rat Brain Chhandamayee Mohanty, *Nilam Shah, *Shaligram Dhungel, **B K Das Department of Anatomy, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, *Department of Anatomy, B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal, **Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India Abstract: Studies on the effect of lamotrigine on fetal brain are limited. The present experimental study was conducted to explore any macroscopic or microscopicchanges in fetal brain induced by lamotrigine. Pregnant albino wistar rats received 1.5 mg oral lamotrigine on day 9to 11 of pregnancy and the pups were harvested on day 20. The mean body weight and length were lower and brain weight and volume were higher of the pups exposed to lamotrigine. However, the differences were not statistically significant. Some of the experimental pups had exencephaly and haemorrhages over the body. Histologyof the brain revealed that in lamotrigine treated group, the lateral ventricles were dilated and the plexiform layer of the cerebral cortex was relatively less differentiated. Key Words: Lamotrigine, Teratogenicity, Rat fetus, Brain defect. Introduction: Lamotrigine (LTG) is a second generation in separate cages under controlled environmental conditions. The experimental group of rats were administered LTG in the dose of 1.5 mg orally using nasogastric tube on day 9, 10 and 11 of pregnancy. The control rats received only tap water. Pregnant rats were sacrificed on day 20 of gestation and the fetuses were collected after noting the resorption sites and dead fetuses. The live fetuses were cleaned, blotted, weighed and were examined under dissecting microscope for various external malformations. The fetal brain was dissected from the cranial cavity and was preserved in formal saline for histologic