PMID- 11847047
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20020326
LR  - 20210604
IS  - 0195-6108 (Print)
IS  - 1936-959X (Electronic)
IS  - 0195-6108 (Linking)
VI  - 23
IP  - 2
DP  - 2002 Feb
TI  - Reduced N-acetylaspartate levels in the frontal cortex of 
      3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy) users: preliminary results.
PG  - 231-7
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The perceived safety of the recreational drug 
      methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), or Ecstasy, conflicts with animal evidence 
      indicating that MDMA damages cortical serotonin (5-HT) neurons at doses similar 
      to those used by humans. Few data are available about the effects of MDMA on the 
      human brain. This study was designed to evaluate MDMA-related alterations in 
      metabolite ratios with single-voxel proton ((1)H) MR spectroscopy. METHODS: 
      Fifteen male MDMA users (mean lifetime exposure, 723 tablets; mean time since 
      last tablet, 12.0 weeks) and 12 age-matched control subjects underwent 
      single-voxel (1)H MR spectroscopy. N-Acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr), 
      NAA/Choline (Cho), and myoinositol (MI)/Cr ratios were measured in midfrontal 
      gray matter, midoccipital gray matter, and right parietal white matter. Data were 
      analyzed with linear model-based multivariate analysis of variance. RESULTS: 
      NAA/Cr (P =.04) and NAA/Cho (P =.03) ratios, markers associated with neuronal 
      loss or dysfunction, were reduced in the frontal cortex of MDMA users. Neither 
      NAA/Cr (P =.72) nor NAA/Cho (P =.12) ratios were different between both groups in 
      occipital gray matter and parietal white matter (P =.18). Extent of previous MDMA 
      use and frontal cortical NAA/Cr (rho = -.50, P =.012) or NAA/Cho (rho = -.550, P 
      <.01) ratios were significantly associated. CONCLUSION: Reduced NAA/Cr and 
      NAA/Cho ratios at (1)H MR spectroscopy provide evidence for neuronal abnormality 
      in the frontal cortex of MDMA users; these are correlated with the degree of MDMA 
      exposure. These data suggest that MDMA may be a neurotoxin in humans, as it is in 
      animals.
FAU - Reneman, Liesbeth
AU  - Reneman L
AD  - Academic Medical Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine F2-210, Graduate School 
      of Neurosciences, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
FAU - Majoie, Charles B L M
AU  - Majoie CB
FAU - Flick, Herman
AU  - Flick H
FAU - den Heeten, Gerard J
AU  - den Heeten GJ
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - AJNR Am J Neuroradiol
JT  - AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology
JID - 8003708
RN  - 0 (Hallucinogens)
RN  - 30KYC7MIAI (Aspartic Acid)
RN  - 997-55-7 (N-acetylaspartate)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
RN  - MU72812GK0 (Creatine)
RN  - N91BDP6H0X (Choline)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aspartic Acid/*analogs & derivatives/*metabolism
MH  - Choline/metabolism
MH  - Creatine/metabolism
MH  - Frontal Lobe/*metabolism
MH  - Hallucinogens/*adverse effects
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
MH  - Male
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/*adverse effects
MH  - Occipital Lobe/metabolism
MH  - Parietal Lobe/metabolism
MH  - Periaqueductal Gray/metabolism
MH  - Reference Values
MH  - Substance-Related Disorders/*metabolism
PMC - PMC7975269
EDAT- 2002/02/16 10:00
MHDA- 2002/03/27 10:01
PMCR- 2003/02/01
CRDT- 2002/02/16 10:00
PHST- 2002/02/16 10:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2002/03/27 10:01 [medline]
PHST- 2002/02/16 10:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2003/02/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
PST - ppublish
SO  - AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2002 Feb;23(2):231-7.