The Impact of Two Selected Doses of Gabapentin on the Kidney and Brain of Adult White Male Rats: A Histological, Biochemical, and Immunohistochemical study

Gabapentin is a medication commonly used in the treatment of epilepsy and sciatic neuropathy. Histology, biochemistry, immunohistochemical changes, body, kidneys, and brain weights were investigated in this study, where 15 male albino rats were used. The animals were split into 3 sets: A, B, and C (5 rats/set). Set A was administrated in distilled water (control set). Gabapentin was administrated orally to both B and C sets at the doses 21.8 and 43.6 mg/kg, respectively. The dosing period was 30 days. The findings showed glomerular atrophy and changes in renal tissue in the B and C sets. Brain sections of B and C sets showed necrotic and degenerative changes. The findings showed insignificant body and brain weight increases in B and C sets, while set B significantly decreased kidney weight. Biochemical analysis showed an insignificant increase in the urea and creatinine in both experimental sets. Both B and C sets showed insignificant increases in the cholinesterase enzyme activity in the brain. Immunohistochemical assessment of the kidney tissue showed positive and strong positive immunoreactivity of both caspases 3 and 8. Both B and C sets showed weakly positive and positive Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GAFP) immunoreactivity in the brain. It was obvious that gabapentin caused the induction of apoptosis in the kidney through the overexpression of caspases 3&8. The medication also induced various lesions in the brain, especially in the axons of the neurons. The severity of its effect depended on the given dose and duration of treatment.