PMID- 19336788
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20090803
LR  - 20180724
IS  - 1472-1465 (Electronic)
IS  - 0007-1250 (Linking)
VI  - 194
IP  - 4
DP  - 2009 Apr
TI  - Brain serotonin transporter binding in former users of MDMA ('ecstasy').
PG  - 355-9
LID - 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.050344 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: Animal experimental studies have prompted concerns that widespread 
      use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; 'ecstasy') by young people may 
      pose a major public health problem in terms of persistent serotonin 
      neurotoxicity. AIMS: To determine the status of brain serotonin neurons in a 
      group of abstinent MDMA users. METHOD: We assessed the integrity of brain 
      serotonin neurons by measuring serotonin transporter (SERT) binding using 
      positron emission tomography (PET) and [(11)C]DASB in 12 former MDMA users, 9 
      polydrug users who had never taken MDMA and 19 controls who reported no history 
      of illicit drug use. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the binding 
      potential of [(11)C]DASB between the groups in any of the brain regions examined. 
      CONCLUSIONS: To the extent that [(11)C]DASB binding provides an index of the 
      integrity of serotonin neurons, our findings suggest that MDMA use may not result 
      in long-term damage to serotonin neurons when used recreationally in humans.
FAU - Selvaraj, Sudhakar
AU  - Selvaraj S
AD  - PET Psychiatry, Cyclotron Building, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial 
      College, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, UK.
FAU - Hoshi, Rosa
AU  - Hoshi R
FAU - Bhagwagar, Zubin
AU  - Bhagwagar Z
FAU - Murthy, Naga Venkatesha
AU  - Murthy NV
FAU - Hinz, Rainer
AU  - Hinz R
FAU - Cowen, Philip
AU  - Cowen P
FAU - Curran, H Valerie
AU  - Curran HV
FAU - Grasby, Paul
AU  - Grasby P
LA  - eng
GR  - Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - England
TA  - Br J Psychiatry
JT  - The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
JID - 0342367
RN  - 0 (Hallucinogens)
RN  - 0 (Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Amphetamine-Related Disorders/*metabolism
MH  - Brain/diagnostic imaging/drug effects/*metabolism
MH  - Hallucinogens/*adverse effects/metabolism
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/*adverse effects/metabolism
MH  - Neurons/*drug effects/metabolism
MH  - Positron-Emission Tomography
MH  - Radioligand Assay
MH  - Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins/*metabolism
MH  - Time
EDAT- 2009/04/02 09:00
MHDA- 2009/08/04 09:00
CRDT- 2009/04/02 09:00
PHST- 2009/04/02 09:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2009/04/02 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2009/08/04 09:00 [medline]
AID - S0007125000249453 [pii]
AID - 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.050344 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Br J Psychiatry. 2009 Apr;194(4):355-9. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.050344.