Chronic lithium treatment with or without haloperidol fails to affect the morphology of the rat cerebellum.
We used unbiased stereological principles to determine whether long-term administration of lithium at human therapeutic levels, with or without haloperidol, affects the number or sizes of cerebellar Purkinje cells or the volume of histological layers in the rat cerebellum. Twenty-eight rats were randomly divided into three groups, receiving either no treatment, lithium, or lithium combined with haloperidol. The serum lithium levels ranged from 0.50 to 0.77 mmol/l. Haloperidol was given at a daily dose of 1 mg/kg. After 30 weeks of treatment, the animals were killed and the cerebelli were histologically prepared. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups with respect to the cerebellar measures.
Mood Disorders Research Unit, Aarhus University Psychiatric Hospital, Skovagervej 2, DK-8240 Risskov, Denmark. rl@psykiatri.aaa.dk
R W
RW
Licht
J O
JO
Larsen
D
D
Smith
H
H
Braendgaard
D000818:Animals; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001835:Body Weight; D002452:Cell Count; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008094:Lithium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D008094:Lithium; D006220:Haloperidol