Lamivudine is an anti-retroviral drug used for the treatment of HIV and hepatitis B. It is one of the essential medicines needed in a basic health system. This study was carried out to investigate the detrimental effect of lamivudine on the cerebellum based on the adverse effects of gait disorders manifested by patients using lamivudine. Twenty male Wistar rats divided into two groups of ten rats each were used for the study. Control group A was administered with 1ml of distilled water, while treatment group B was treated with 4.28mg/kg of lamivudine daily for 30 days. On the 30 th day, the rats were euthanized and each cerebellum was harvested immediately. The cerebella were put through routine tissue processing for H/E staining and GFAP immunohistochemical method. The resulting specimens were mounted with DPX and viewed under the light microscope at ×400. Photomicrographs showed shrunken Purkinje cells and distorted granular layer in the cerebellum of group B rats while those of group A rats were healthy. Also, image J counting showed reduced number of cells in the lamivudine group. This correlated with the higher staining intensity for GFAP in the granular layer of group B rats suggesting cellular inflammation and damage. More research is needed to ascertain the molecular mechanism of these distortions.

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