PMID- 22216322
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20120521
LR  - 20211021
IS  - 1932-6203 (Electronic)
IS  - 1932-6203 (Linking)
VI  - 6
IP  - 12
DP  - 2011
TI  - Effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine administration on retinal physiology 
      in the rat.
PG  - e29583
LID - 10.1371/journal.pone.0029583 [doi]
LID - e29583
AB  - 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) is known to produce euphoric 
      states, but may also cause adverse consequences in humans, such as hyperthermia 
      and neurocognitive deficits. Although MDMA consumption has been associated with 
      visual problems, the effects of this recreational drug in retinal physiology have 
      not been addressed hitherto. In this work, we evaluated the effect of a single 
      MDMA administration in the rat electroretinogram (ERG). Wistar rats were 
      administered MDMA (15 mg/kg) or saline and ERGs were recorded before (Baseline 
      ERG), and 3 h, 24 h, and 7 days after treatment. A high temperature (HT) 
      saline-treated control group was also included. Overall, significantly augmented 
      and shorter latency ERG responses were found in MDMA and HT groups 3 h after 
      treatment when compared to Baseline. Twenty-four hours after treatment some of 
      the alterations found at 3 h, mainly characterized by shorter latency, tended to 
      return to Baseline values. However, MDMA-treated animals still presented 
      increased scotopic a-wave and b-wave amplitudes compared to Baseline ERGs, which 
      were independent of temperature elevation though the latter might underlie the 
      acute ERG alterations observed 3 h after MDMA administration. Seven days after 
      MDMA administration recovery from these effects had occurred. The effects seem to 
      stem from specific changes observed at the a-wave level, which indicates that 
      MDMA affects subacutely (at 24 h) retinal physiology at the outer retinal 
      (photoreceptor/bipolar) layers. In conclusion, we have found direct evidence that 
      MDMA causes subacute enhancement of the outer retinal responses (most prominent 
      in the a-wave), though ERG alterations resume within one week. These changes in 
      photoreceptor/bipolar cell physiology may have implications for the understanding 
      of the subacute visual manifestations induced by MDMA in humans.
CI  - (c) 2011 Martins et al.
FAU - Martins, Joao
AU  - Martins J
AD  - Centre of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, IBILI, Faculty of Medicine, 
      University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
FAU - Castelo-Branco, Miguel
AU  - Castelo-Branco M
FAU - Batista, Ana
AU  - Batista A
FAU - Oliveiros, Barbara
AU  - Oliveiros B
FAU - Santiago, Ana Raquel
AU  - Santiago AR
FAU - Galvao, Joana
AU  - Galvao J
FAU - Fernandes, Eduarda
AU  - Fernandes E
FAU - Carvalho, Felix
AU  - Carvalho F
FAU - Cavadas, Claudia
AU  - Cavadas C
FAU - Ambrosio, Antonio F
AU  - Ambrosio AF
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20111227
PL  - United States
TA  - PLoS One
JT  - PloS one
JID - 101285081
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Electroretinography
MH  - Kidney/*drug effects/physiology
MH  - Male
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/*pharmacology
MH  - Rats
MH  - Rats, Wistar
PMC - PMC3246479
COIS- Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
EDAT- 2012/01/05 06:00
MHDA- 2012/05/23 06:00
PMCR- 2011/12/27
CRDT- 2012/01/05 06:00
PHST- 2011/05/25 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2011/11/30 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2012/01/05 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2012/01/05 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2012/05/23 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2011/12/27 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - PONE-D-11-09482 [pii]
AID - 10.1371/journal.pone.0029583 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - PLoS One. 2011;6(12):e29583. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029583. Epub 2011 Dec 27.