Histological Changes in the Kidney of Fetuses of Citalopram Treated Pregnant Rats

Citalopram is an antidepressant drug which is specifically recommended for treatment of depression disorders during pregnancy and lactation. This drug and its metabolite cross the placenta and they are eliminated by kidneys from the body. In this study, histological changes in the kidney of fetuses of pregnant Wistar albino rats treated with two doses of Citalopram (10 and 20 mg/kg/day) were determined. The samples of kidney obtained from fetuses of rats on day 18of gestation were evaluated morphologically and fixed for histology.The sections stained with H&E. Statistical evaluation of data showed that there were no differences in kidney weights between the control and citalopram treatment groups. Moreover, no significant changes were observed in the kidney histology and glomerular number of none of treated groups. The results suggest that citalopram can be considered safe for fetus in pregnancy period.