Effect of HAART Cocktail and Neurovite Co-administration on the Cytoarchitecture of the Cerebellum and Neurobehaviour of Adult Male Wistar Rats

Highly active antiretroviral therapyi (HAART), a combination of drugs (lamivudine, zidovudine and nevirapine) used for pre-exposure prophylaxis and management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this research work was to investigate the potential Ameliorative effect of neuroviteon on HAART induced toxicity on the cerebellum. Thirty two Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups of 8 rats each. Group A served as the control, while group B were administered with 9.28 mg/kg of HAART,  group C received 9.28 mg/kg of HAART and 0.07mg/kg of folic acid and group D received 0.07mg/kg folic acid. Drugs were administered twice daily for 30 days after which neurobehavioural test of open field maze was perform. The rats were then sacrificed and their cerebellum harvested, processed and stained using haematoxylin and eosin method and nuro-fillament (NF) immunochemistry method. The slides were viewed under light microscope. Results showed a significant reduction in the brain to body weight index between the HAART group and the control and folic acid group.  There was significant reduction in locomotor activity following administration of  HAART to the animals compared with control, there were also significant reduction in rearing frequency , walling frequency and freezing duration, with a significant increased in freezing duration in the HAART treatment group. The freezing frequency, central line crossing and  grooming frequency were not significantly different. The cerebella were affected with mild to moderate shrinkage of pyramidal cells and distortion of the granular cells. There was increased expression of NF in the HAART group compared to controls. HAART affects the weight, histology of the cerebellum and  neurobehaviour. Neurovite has the potential of ameliorating the histological distortion and may be beneficial to people taking HAART.