TIME AND DOSE-RELATED SIDE EFFECTS OF RISPERIDONE IN RATS
GEORGE ECHIM1, CAMIL EUGEN VARI2*, MELINDA KOLCSÀR2, OVIDIU SIMION COTOI3, BIANCA EUGENIA ŐSZ2, ALEXANDRA GROȘAN1, ZSOLT GÀLL1,2, MARIA DOGARU2
1.Doctoral School, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Târgu Mureș,
2.Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Târgu Mureș, Romania
3.Department Pathophysiology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Târgu Mureș, Romania
Download Full Article PDF
Although it is included in the modern antipsychotics group, risperidone distinguishes itself from the others through its
particular pharmacotoxicological profile. The study aimed to identify the main pharmacotoxicological targets located at
different organs levels, by using a 9-week chronic treatment experimental model designed on white Wistar rats. 60 animals
were assigned in groups of 10 individuals, as follows: group 1 (males) were treated with 1mg/kg bw risperidone, groups 2, 3
and 4 (females) were treated with 1, 2 and 4 mg/kg bw risperidone respectively, while group 5 and group 6 served as controls
(males and females respectively). Blood and tissue samples (mammary gland, fatty tissue) were taken after the sacrifice of
the animals, in order to determine 25-hydroxyvitamin-D concentration in parallel with the histopathological processing and
its assessment respectively. The chronic treatment with risperidone produced fatty tissue hypertrophy, reflected in body
weight gain, hyperprolactinaemia (secreting glandular acini), important vitamin D plasma levels decreases, without any
radiologically noticeable skeletal alterations. Hyperprolactinaemia and fatty tissue hypertrophy were shown to be present in
the chronic risperidone treatment in rats, but the bone alterations are discreet, indicated only indirectly by the significant
lowering of plasma vitamin D levels.
