Acute and chronic administration of ibogaine to the rat results in astrogliosis that is not confined to the cerebellar vermis.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences – October 31, 1996
Source: PubMed
Summary
Acute high doses of ibogaine (IBG) lead to significant brain changes, including up to 200% increases in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in female rats after chronic dosing. In a study involving male and female rats, both sexes showed dose-related GFAP increases after acute IBG, but chronic effects were more pronounced in females, affecting the hippocampus, olfactory bulbs, brain stem, and striatum. These findings suggest that ibogaine induces brain damage with sex-specific responses and varying impacts based on dosage and duration.
Abstract
Acute administration of high doses of ibogaine (IBG) to the male rat results in degeneration of Purkinje cells and reactive gliosis in the cerebellar vermis. We examined whether acute and chronic administration of IBG to male and female rats results in gliosis as determined by quantification of the astroglial intermediate filament protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). After acute administration of IBG, rats of both sexes showed dose-related increases in GFAP that were not confined to the cerebellar vermis. After chronic administration of IBG, female, but not male rats, showed large (as much as 200% of control), dose-related increases in GFAP in hippocampus, olfactory bulbs, brain stem and striatum, but not cerebellum. In hippocampus, the cytoskeletal proteins, neurofilament 68 (NF-68) and beta-tubulin were increased in females treated chronically with IBG, findings consistent with a damage-induced sprouting response. Together, the data indicate that IBG damages areas of the brain outside the cerebellum and that the sites damaged are dependent on sex and dosage regimen.