Journal of Neuroscience Research
September 21, 2011
Elena Puerta, Lucía Barros-Miñones, Isabel Hervias et al.
17 citations
Sildenafil, given shortly before 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), affords protection against 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) depletions caused by this amphetamine derivative by an acute preconditioning-like mechanism. Because acute and delayed preconditionings do not share the same mechanisms, we investigated whether sildenafil would also protect the 5-HT system of the rat if given 24 hr...
Pharmaceuticals
July 5, 2011
Elena Puerta, Norberto Aguirre
6 citations
The amphetamine analogue 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ‘ecstasy’) is widely abused as a recreational drug due to its unique psychological effects. Of interest, MDMA causes long-lasting deficits in neurochemical and histological markers of the serotonergic neurons in the brain of different animal species. Such deficits include the decline in the activity of tryptophan hydroxylase in...
Journal of Neurochemistry
February 2009
Elena Puerta, Isabel Hervias, Beatriz Goñi-allo et al.
Phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors are often used in combination with club drugs such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy). We investigated the consequences of such combination in the serotonergic system of the rat. Oral administration of sildenafil citrate (1.5 or 8 mg/kg) increased brain cGMP levels and protected in a dose-dependent manner against 5-hydroxytryptamine...
Neuropsychobiology
2009
Elena Puerta, Isabel Hervias, Norberto Aguirre
Administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) to various experimental animals has been shown to induce a selective damage to serotonergic axon terminals. While a great consensus appears to exist regarding the causative role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the mechanisms underlying MDMA toxicity, the source of free radicals is still a matter of debate. While some...
European Journal of Pharmacology
May 21, 2007
Beatriz Goñi-allo, Elena Puerta, Isabel Hervias et al.
13 citations
Amiloride and several of its congeners known to block the Na(+)/Ca(2+) and/or Na(+)/H(+) antiporters potentiate methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity without altering methamphetamine-induced hyperthermia. We now examine whether amiloride also exacerbates 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-induced long-term serotonin (5-HT) loss in rats. Amiloride (2.5 mg/kg, every 2 h x 3, i.p.) given at...
Journal of Neurochemistry
September 1, 2000
Isabel Hervias, Berta Lasheras, Norberto Aguirre
Abstract: Neurotoxicity induced by different substituted amphetamines has been associated with the exhaustion of intracellular energy stores. Accordingly, we examined the influence of 2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose (2‐DG), a competitive inhibitor of glucose uptake and metabolism, and nicotinamide, an agent that improves energy metabolism, on 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)‐induced...
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
February 2000
Meritxell Barrionuevo, Norberto Aguirre, J D Del Río et al.
The serotonergic deficits induced by 3,4-methylenedioxyethamphetamine (MDEA, "eve"), were examined and compared with 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy"). A single dose of MDEA (10, 20, or 40 mg/kg IP) induced a dose-related hyperthermia, but only the highest dose significantly reduced 5-HT content and 5-HT transporter density in the frontal cortex and in the hippocampus 7 days...
Neuroreport
November 1, 1999
Norberto Aguirre, Meritxell Barrionuevo, Marı́a J. Ramı́rez et al.
89 citations
A single administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymetham-phetamine (MDMA, 20 mg/kg, i.p.), induced significant hyperthermia in rats and reduced 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) content and [3H]paroxetine-labeled 5-HT transporter density in the frontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus by 40–60% 1 week later. MDMA treatment also increased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity in the...
European Journal of Pharmacology
July 1, 1995
Norberto Aguirre, J L Galbete, Berta Lasheras et al.
The present study examined the short- and long-term effects of single and repeated administration of 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') on somatodendritic and postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors of the rat brain. [3H]8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin ([3H]8-OH-DPAT) was used to label 5-HT1A receptors in the brain stem region containing the dorsal raphe nucleus and in the...