Cellular And Dna Changes Due To Clonazepam Abuse In Brains Of Albino Rats And Role Of Clonidine During Withdrawal Period

Clonazepam as an addictive drug was studied to elucidate its destructive effects on rats' brain. Also,the possible effect of clonidine was evaluated during withdrawal period. Sixty male albino rats were dividedinto three main groups. Group I (negative control group) comprised ten rats. Group II comprisedforty rats which were divided into equal subgroups: group II a (Clonazepam dependent group), group IIb (Clonazepam withdrawal group), group II c rats received clonidine during the withdrawal period fortwo weeks and group II d rats received clonidine during the withdrawal period for four weeks. Group III(Clonidine positive control group) comprised ten rats. Rats of all groups were sacrificed at the end of thedesigned period. Clonazepam dependent rats (group II a) showed the highest mean optical density valuesof brain DNA degradation compared to control. Group II c showed more improvement in DNA degradationthan in dependence and withdrawal groups. Group II d showed much more improvement comparedto groups II a, b, and c. Histopathology and histochemical results paralleled those found in DNA study.In conclusion, clonazepam should be prescribed cautiously as patients may turn addict to it. Also,clonidine should be more investigated as an adjuvant in clonazepam addiction withdrawal in humanbeing.