A Study on the Neurotoxicity of Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) Administration on the Cerebral Cortex of Adult Wistar Rats

Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) is a benzodiazepine drug medically proscribed in United States whereas it’s legally prescribed in over sixty nations where the drug is administered as pre-anesthetic drug and in the treatment of insomnia but not without the loss of cerebral cortex functions which inspired this investigation to establish its neurotoxicity on the cerebral cortex of adult wistar rat. Sixteen adult female wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups with four rats in each group (A, B, C and D). Group A, the control group received distilled water. Groups B, C and D received 1mg/kg, 2mg/kg and 3mg/kg of Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) respectively. The animals were sacrificed after three weeks of administration and the cerebral cortexes were harvested and fixed in 10% formal saline for histological processing and studies. The anthropometric investigation presented an insignificant increase in the relative body weight of the test groups when compared to the control group and also presented a significant increase in the relative organ weight in the entire test groups when compared to the control group. The cerebral cortex of experimental animals showed; severe lymphocytic infiltration, focal areas of liquefactive necrosis, intracerebral hemorrhage, vacuolation and various degrees of damages to the tissue layers and neuronal cells of the cerebral cortex. This scientific investigation indicates that consumption of Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) across various graded doses causes changes in the cerebral cortex histoarchitecture which explains the rationale behind the loss of cerebral cortex function in drug addicts and patients placed on prolonged Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) therapy.