ABSTRACT
Background: Valproate is an antiepileptic drug which is also known as 2-propylvaleric acid. Valproic acid ispresently the most widely used antiepileptic drug because of its antiepileptic effectiveness in a broad range ofseizure types: tonic-clonic, myoclonic, absence and partial seizures. Present work was done to evaluate the grossand histological effect of valproate on fetal mice kidney.Materials and Methods: This study was done in anatomy department of Institute of medical sciences, BanarasHindu University, Varanasi (U.P.). Single dose of valproate (200mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally on 8thday of gestation and then fetuses were collected at the 18th day of gestation.Results: Kidney was reduced in size in valproate treated group fetuses as compared to kidney of control groupfetuses. On histological examination, distorted developing nephrons and clumping of bowman capsule indeveloped nephrons were seen.Conclusions: Various authors worked on valproate treated adult mice kidney. There are only few study conductedon kidney of mice fetus. In present study, valproate was found teratogenic at the dose of 200mg/kg so it shouldbe avoided in human pregnancy if possible