Substance use is a major global public health issue with important medical, social, and economic consequences. Drug use during pregnancy is particularly concerning, as this period involves increased biological vulnerability for both mother and fetus. Intrauterine exposure to psychoactive substances may lead to severe and sometimes irreversible effects. Benzydamine misuse for recreational purposes, often referred to as “benzydamine trips,” has been documented globally, particularly among adolescents. It was hypothesized that intrauterine benzydamine exposure would lead to sex-specific deficits in cognitive and exploratory behavior in adolescence. In this study, 40 female Wistar rats were mated (2:1 ratio) and randomly assigned to two groups: one received recreationally relevant doses of benzydamine during pregnancy. Offspring behavior was assessed using the Novel Object Recognition (NOR) test for memory and the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) for exploratory and anxiety-related behavior. Biochemical analyses were performed at the end of the experiment. The EPM showed no significant group differences in time spent in open or closed arms. Females displayed slightly higher locomotor activity, and treated females spent more time in open arms compared to males and untreated females. This is the first study evaluating offspring exposed prenatally to recreational doses of benzydamine. The findings suggest that benzydamine may impair memory and alter behavior, with more evident effects in females.
George JÎTCĂ 1, Zsolt GÁLL 1*, Camil-Eugen VARI 1, Bianca-Eugenia ŐSZ 1
1 Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, ”George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Romania
1 Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, ”George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Romania
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