Effects of chronic ibogaine treatment on cerebellar Purkinje cells in the rat.

Repeated administration of ibogaine to male Fischer 344 rats over 60 days did not cause loss of cerebellar Purkinje cells. The ibogaine group had an average of 243,764 Purkinje cells and the control group 230,813, a difference that was not statistically significant. This suggests that chronic ibogaine exposure at a behaviorally active dose does not damage these neurons.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The present investigation assessed the chronic toxicity of ibogaine on cerebellar Purkinje cells in male Fischer 344 rats. A behaviorally active dose of ibogaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered to a group of six subjects every other day for 60 days while the control group received an equivalent volume of saline (1 ml/kg). Estimates of Purkinje cell number were determined using the optical dissector/fractionator technique. No significant differences in Purkinje cell number were observed between the ibogaine (243764[+/-32766]) and control groups (230813[+/-16670]).