Effect of anticonvulsant drug [phenytoin] on the postnatal development of the cerebellar cortex of boscat rabbit [lepus cuniculus]

ABSTRACT

Boscat rabbit [Lepus Cuniculus] was used as a model to study the effect of anticonvulsant drug on the postnatal development of the cerebellar cortex. Pohenytoin was used orally in a dose of [50 mg/Kg body weight] to the pregnant female rabbits starting from the day 15 of conception [the period of gestation is 30 days]. It is known that phenytoin passes through the placental barrier and also is excreted in milk. The controlled mothers received normal saline at the same time in which the experimental group received the drug. The pups were taken at the ages of newly born, one week, two weeks, one month from both groups. The cerebellum was extracted, fixed in neutral formaline and processed for histological preparation. This research showed that different cellular elements of the cerebellar cortex were affected in the form of degeneration, delayed migration of the external granular cells and delayed maturation. These changes could be reflected on the activity of the animal in the form of impaired skills and growth as a whole