Afobazole modifies the neurotoxic and genotoxic effects in rat prenatal alcoholization model.

Prenatal ethanol leads to the formation of a wide spectrum of neurotoxic injuries to the brain in embryos by day 20 of intrauterine development. High levels of DNA aberrations and apoptotic comets were detected in tissues of 13-day embryos and placentas of rats receiving 40% ethanol orally (4 ml/kg) during gestation. The increase in the levels of DNA aberrations and apoptotic comets in the embryonic and placental tissues of alcoholic rats on day 13 of gestation correlated with the emergence of morphological abnormalities of the brain in the embryos on day 20 of intrauterine development. Afobazole (antimutagen) in doses of 1 and 10 mg/kg reduced the genotoxic effects of ethanol in embryonic and placental tissues and the relevant neurotoxic involvement of the brain.