Effects of ethanol on neuron density in the limbic cortex of the brain and correction of evoked changes with the antioxidant Dolivin.

The aims of the present work were to measure neuron density in the limbic cortex in the offspring of female white rats given 15% ethanol solution during pregnancy and lactation and to address the possibility of correcting ethanol-induced impairments at the early stages of postnatal development (PND) using the antioxidant Dolivin. Neuron numbers were measured in the cingulate gyrus and entorhinal cortex on PND days 3, 7, 15, 21, and 30 (three animals in each age group). Dolivin (0.7 mg) was added to the diets of female animals with the aim of preventing ethanol-induced changes. The cytotoxic action of ethanol was found to decrease the total number of cells in the limbic cortex at the early stages of PND, particularly on day 7. Neurons in the deep part of the limbic zone were the most sensitive to the actions of ethanol. Dolivin had preventative effects, weakening the cytotoxic actions of ethanol at all stages of development.