Chronic histopathological effects of levetiracetam on some internal organs of adult albino rats

To assess effects of levetiracetam (LEV) within its therapeutic range at a 54mg/day and 1/4 LD50=70mg/kg body weight for white albino male and female rats weighing an average of 180±60g has been studied in order to demonstrate whether LEV would affect the internal organs at the histological level. Animals were randomly separated into control (n=20), study group I (n=20) and study group II (n=20). They were obtained from the animal house, Assuit University. They were maintained in environmentally controlled rooms at a temperature of 28–32°C, 40–60% humidity, in a noise free environment. Oral administration of 54mg/day and 70mg/kg LEV for groups I and II, respectively, was given while physiologic saline (0.045ml) was given to the control group. Microscopic evaluation of the intestine, kidney, suprarenal glands and spleen, revealed that there was no statistical difference between the treated and control groups. Four specimens of the liver out of 20 (20%), showed focal necrosis around central veins. Lung sections that were obtained from 15 out of 20 (75.0%) rats in the study group II showed various histopathological findings compared to those of the control group. These findings include thickening of interstitial septa, interstitial fibrosis, chronic inflammatory infiltration of cells, and congestion of blood vessels. LEV is considered as a safe drug in its therapeutic dose. Its safety needs further studies with long term follow-up.