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Meth exposure in young adults leads to long-term behavioral consequences
August 15, 2007Young adults who use methamphetamine may be more vulnerable to age-related brain degeneration when they grow older, new animal research suggests.
"The emergence of behavioral deficits in animals months after methamphetamine discontinuation may be relevant to human methamphetamine abusers," says Nora Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute for Drug Abuse. "It suggests that even though their current use may not result in deficits, as they age these deficits will become manifest." Volkow did not participate in the study.
The new work examines the idea that methamphetamine puts young users at risk of developing deficits later in life that are symptomatic of Parkinson's disease in individuals with depletion of glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a protein that protects and repairs dopamine in areas of the brain related to movement control. Loss of nerve cells that produce dopamine is a major factor in the disease.
In their work, published August 15 in The Journal of Neuroscience, Jacqueline McGinty, PhD, at the Medical University of South Carolina, and her colleagues examined the role of GDNF in mice. At 2.5 months of age, the equivalent of adolescence in humans, mice with a partial GDNF gene deletion were compared to mice without the gene deletion; both were given either methamphetamine or saline injections four times over an eight-hour period. McGinty's team discovered that the effects of this methamphetamine binge were exacerbated in the mice with the GDNF deletion. In addition, at 12 months, the GDNF-depleted mice moved significantly less than genetically normal mice treated with methamphetamine.
"Methamphetamine intoxication in any young adult may have deleterious consequences later in life, although they may not be apparent until many decades after the exposure," says McGinty. "These studies speak directly to the possibility of long-term public health consequences resulting from the current epidemic of methamphetamine abuse among young adults."
Future studies might involve identifying the reasons for increased vulnerability to methamphetamine in GDNF-depleted mice in order to help minimize the harm methamphetamine causes to the brain.
Society for Neuroscience
In their work, published August 15 in The Journal of Neuroscience, Jacqueline McGinty, PhD, at the Medical University of South Carolina, and her colleagues examined the role of GDNF in mice. At 2.5 months of age, the equivalent of adolescence in humans, mice with a partial GDNF gene deletion were compared to mice without the gene deletion; both were given either methamphetamine or saline injections four times over an eight-hour period. McGinty's team discovered that the effects of this methamphetamine binge were exacerbated in the mice with the GDNF deletion. In addition, at 12 months, the GDNF-depleted mice moved significantly less than genetically normal mice treated with methamphetamine.
"Methamphetamine intoxication in any young adult may have deleterious consequences later in life, although they may not be apparent until many decades after the exposure," says McGinty. "These studies speak directly to the possibility of long-term public health consequences resulting from the current epidemic of methamphetamine abuse among young adults."
Future studies might involve identifying the reasons for increased vulnerability to methamphetamine in GDNF-depleted mice in order to help minimize the harm methamphetamine causes to the brain.
Society for Neuroscience
Methamphetamine Current Events and Methamphetamine 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.
Risky sexual behavior among male clients of Tijuana sex workers heightens risk of HIV transmission
A study by a bi-national team of global health researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, examining HIV infection among male clients of female sex workers in Tijuana, has found that over half of male clients had recently had unprotected sex.
Brain protein central to both Parkinson's, drug addiction identified
Scientists have identified a protein that appears not only to be central to the process that causes Parkinson's disease but could also play a role in muting the high from methamphetamine and other addictive drugs.
Brain protein central to both Parkinson's, drug addiction identified
Scientists have identified a protein that appears not only to be central to the process that causes Parkinson's disease but could also play a role in muting the high from methamphetamine and other addictive drugs.
Prenatal meth exposure linked to abnormal brain development
A first of its kind study examining the effects of methamphetamine use during pregnancy has found the drug appears to cause abnormal brain development in children.
Methamphetamine use cost the US about $23 billion in 2005, RAND study estimates
The economic cost of methamphetamine use in the United States reached $23.4 billion in 2005, including the burden of addiction, premature death, drug treatment and many other aspects of the drug, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Success of anti-meth ads questioned by study
An independent review investigating the effectiveness of a publicly funded graphic anti-methamphetamine advertising campaign has found that the campaign has been associated with many negative outcomes.
Methamphetamine abuse linked to underage sex, smoking and drinking
Teens who have never done drugs, but engage in other risky behaviours such as drinking, smoking and being sexually active, are more likely to use crystal meth, medical researchers at the University of Alberta have concluded.
Hope for treating relapse to methamphetamine abuse
A new study at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory suggests that vigabatrin (a.k.a. gamma vinyl-GABA, or GVG) blocks drug-seeking behavior in animals previously trained to associate methamphetamine with a particular environment.
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