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Research links 'ecstasy' to survival of key movement-related cells in brain
October 19, 2006CINCINNATI-New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) suggests that the widely abused club drug "ecstasy," or MDMA, can increase the survival of dopamine cells in the brain during fetal development.
Because these cells are critical in the regulation of voluntary movement, the findings, the researchers say, may lead to better therapies for neurological diseases like Parkinson's.
Led by Jack Lipton, PhD, professor of psychiatry, the study was presented today as an abstract at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Atlanta.
"We're certainly not suggesting that this drug be used to treat diseases," said Lipton. "But finding new methods to enhance the survival of dopamine neurons is critical in developing new drugs for diseases such as Parkinson's.
"While MDMA itself isn't likely to be an appropriate therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, it may provide insights for developing new drugs that have similar properties.
"It's exciting to learn that an abused drug may have potential use for developing new therapeutics," he added. "It really makes you rethink your own preconceptions."
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that has been found to regulate movement, balance, emotion and motivation, and it also affects pleasurable feelings in the brain. Researchers know that a loss of dopamine cells in the brain leads to the development of Parkinson's disease and possibly other movement disorders. Preventing dopamine cells from dying or aiding in the replacement of those cells is key to finding lasting therapies.
Lipton, director of the developmental neuroscience division in UC's psychiatry department, studies the long-term effects of abused drugs on the developing central nervous system. He noticed, during previous laboratory studies in rats, that prenatal exposure to MDMA increased growth of dopamine cells in the brain. His team then decided to study exposure to MDMA in cultured embryonic cells-where they confirmed that this drug was in fact increasing dopamine cell survival.
The findings, Lipton says, aren't consistent with what is known about adult brains, where MDMA has been shown to cause depletion of neurotransmitters-like dopamine-and has been linked to decreased brain activity.
MDMA, chemically known as methylenedioxymethamphetamine and sold and used illegally as "ecstasy," is a synthetic stimulant that prompts the secretion of large amounts of the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. This secretion can lead to prolonged periods of activity, hallucinations and euphoria. Before the United States banned it in 1985, MDMA was tested as a possible adjunct in psychotherapy. In 2001, the FDA agreed to allow MDMA to be tested as a possible treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
University of Cincinnati
"We're certainly not suggesting that this drug be used to treat diseases," said Lipton. "But finding new methods to enhance the survival of dopamine neurons is critical in developing new drugs for diseases such as Parkinson's.
"While MDMA itself isn't likely to be an appropriate therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, it may provide insights for developing new drugs that have similar properties.
"It's exciting to learn that an abused drug may have potential use for developing new therapeutics," he added. "It really makes you rethink your own preconceptions."
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that has been found to regulate movement, balance, emotion and motivation, and it also affects pleasurable feelings in the brain. Researchers know that a loss of dopamine cells in the brain leads to the development of Parkinson's disease and possibly other movement disorders. Preventing dopamine cells from dying or aiding in the replacement of those cells is key to finding lasting therapies.
Lipton, director of the developmental neuroscience division in UC's psychiatry department, studies the long-term effects of abused drugs on the developing central nervous system. He noticed, during previous laboratory studies in rats, that prenatal exposure to MDMA increased growth of dopamine cells in the brain. His team then decided to study exposure to MDMA in cultured embryonic cells-where they confirmed that this drug was in fact increasing dopamine cell survival.
The findings, Lipton says, aren't consistent with what is known about adult brains, where MDMA has been shown to cause depletion of neurotransmitters-like dopamine-and has been linked to decreased brain activity.
MDMA, chemically known as methylenedioxymethamphetamine and sold and used illegally as "ecstasy," is a synthetic stimulant that prompts the secretion of large amounts of the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. This secretion can lead to prolonged periods of activity, hallucinations and euphoria. Before the United States banned it in 1985, MDMA was tested as a possible adjunct in psychotherapy. In 2001, the FDA agreed to allow MDMA to be tested as a possible treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
University of Cincinnati
Ecstasy Current Events and Ecstasy News RSSLocal health investigation sheds light on gastroschisis birth defect
Results of an investigation conducted by University of Nevada, Reno researchers, public health officials and area physicians published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, indicate that Washoe County experienced a cluster of a particular birth defect, gastroschisis, during the period April 2007 - April 2008.
Wastewater used to map illicit drug use
A team of researchers has mapped patterns of illicit drug use across the state of Oregon using a method of sampling municipal wastewater before it is treated.
Knock-out drugs: Narrow window for detection
Drug-facilitated sexual crimes are increasing. The Bonn Institute for Forensic Medicine has recorded that the number of examinations on the use of intoxicants in sexual offences within their catchment area increased 10-fold between 1997 and 2006.
Ecstasy could help patients with post-traumatic stress disorder
Ecstasy may help suffers of post-traumatic stress learn to deal with their memories more effectively by encouraging a feeling of safety, according to an article in the Journal of Psychopharmacology published today by SAGE.
Young people are intentionally taking drink and drugs for better sex
Teenagers and young adults across Europe drink and take drugs as part of deliberate sexual strategies. Findings published today in BioMed Central's open access journal, BMC Public Health, reveal that a third of 16-35 year old males and a quarter of females surveyed are drinking alcohol to increase their chances of sex, while cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis are intentionally used to enhance sexual arousal or prolong sex.
Club drugs inflict damage similar to traumatic brain injury
What do suffering a traumatic brain injury and using club drugs have in common"? University of Florida researchers say both may trigger a similar chemical chain reaction in the brain, leading to cell death, memory loss and potentially irreversible brain damage.
Recreational cocaine use may impair inhibitory control
The recreational use of cocaine has rapidly increased in many European countries over the past few years.
World's smallest radio uses single nanotube to pick up good vibrations
Physicists at the University of California, Berkeley, have built the smallest radio yet - a single carbon nanotube one ten-thousandth the diameter of a human hair that requires only a battery and earphones to tune in to your favorite station.
Breaking up may not be as hard as the song says
The devastation caused by a broken heart has been a dominant theme throughout the ages of great literature and pop culture alike.
A study undertaken at the University of Navarra relates the neural damage provoked by Ecstasy with the ambient temperature at which it is consumed
There exists a direct relationship between the consumption of MDMA, or Ecstasy, at a high ambient temperature and an increase in the neural damage which this drug provokes.
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