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...
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...