PMID- 2883295
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 19870522
LR  - 20131121
IS  - 0022-3565 (Print)
IS  - 0022-3565 (Linking)
VI  - 241
IP  - 1
DP  - 1987 Apr
TI  - Biochemical and histological evidence that methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) 
      is toxic to neurons in the rat brain.
PG  - 338-45
AB  - (+/-)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) was administered s.c. to rats 
      (10, 20 or 40 mg/kg b. wt.) and guinea pigs (20 mg/kg) twice a day for 4 days, 2 
      weeks before decapitation. Norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin (5-HT) levels 
      were assayed in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, striatum and neocortex. In rats, 
      MDMA produced dose-dependent reductions in 5-HT in all brain regions examined. 
      The highest dose also reduced norepinephrine and/or dopamine in some regions. The 
      20-mg/kg dose of MDMA depleted 5-HT in all regions of the guinea pig brain 
      assayed. In both species, repeated administration of 20 mg/kg of MDMA reduced the 
      Vmax but not the Km of 5-HT uptake 2 weeks after administration. A single 
      40-mg/kg injection of MDMA depleted 5-HT 2 and 8 weeks after administration to 
      rats in all regions of the brain examined except the hypothalamus. Administration 
      of 80 mg/kg of MDMA twice a day for 2 days to rats depleted striatal 5-HT and 
      dopamine. Brain sections from rats injected with MDMA according to this dosage 
      regimen were stained by the Fink-Heimer method. Degenerating axon terminals and 
      cell bodies were observed in the striatum and somatosensory cortex, respectively. 
      These findings suggest that MDMA is toxic to serotonergic and, to a lesser 
      extent, catecholaminergic neurons. Some neurons that do not contain these 
      transmitters (neocortical neurons) are also affected.
FAU - Commins, D L
AU  - Commins DL
FAU - Vosmer, G
AU  - Vosmer G
FAU - Virus, R M
AU  - Virus RM
FAU - Woolverton, W L
AU  - Woolverton WL
FAU - Schuster, C R
AU  - Schuster CR
FAU - Seiden, L S
AU  - Seiden LS
LA  - eng
GR  - DA-00085/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States
GR  - MH-10562/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
GR  - MH-14274/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PL  - United States
TA  - J Pharmacol Exp Ther
JT  - The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
JID - 0376362
RN  - 0 (Amphetamines)
RN  - 333DO1RDJY (Serotonin)
RN  - 4764-17-4 (3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
RN  - VTD58H1Z2X (Dopamine)
RN  - X4W3ENH1CV (Norepinephrine)
SB  - IM
MH  - 3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine/analogs & derivatives/*toxicity
MH  - Amphetamines/*toxicity
MH  - Animals
MH  - Brain/*cytology/drug effects
MH  - Corpus Striatum/drug effects
MH  - Dopamine/metabolism
MH  - Kinetics
MH  - Male
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine
MH  - Neurons/*drug effects
MH  - Norepinephrine/metabolism
MH  - Rats
MH  - Rats, Inbred Strains
MH  - Serotonin/metabolism
MH  - Somatosensory Cortex/drug effects
MH  - Synaptosomes/drug effects/metabolism
MH  - Tissue Distribution
EDAT- 1987/04/01 00:00
MHDA- 1987/04/01 00:01
CRDT- 1987/04/01 00:00
PHST- 1987/04/01 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 1987/04/01 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 1987/04/01 00:00 [entrez]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1987 Apr;241(1):338-45.