A pharmacokinetic analysis of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine effects on monoamine concentrations in brain dialysates.
European Journal of Pharmacology November 1, 1991 DOI: 10.1016/0014-2999(91)90697-o (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preclinical experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rats |
| Intervention | (+)-MDMA |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key findings | The authors report that MDMA itself has stereoselective actions on dopamine neurons, since striatal dopamine correlated with plasma MDMA but not plasma MDA. They suggest that higher plasma MDA levels after (+)-MDMA may account for part of the enantiomeric differences in MDMA's behavioral and neurotoxicological effects. |
Abstract
Interpretation of the in vivo actions of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is complicated by the formation of the active metabolite, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA). This study evaluates the role of MDA in the dopamine releasing actions of (+)-MDMA. In the study, rats were given subcutaneous doses of (+)-MDMA and concentrations of monoamines and their metabolites in striatal dialysate were measured at 15 min intervals. In parallel experiments, plasma concentrations of (+)- and (-)-MDMA and MDA were determined by GC/MS procedures. The time course of MDMA levels was comparable for the two isomers as were their bioavailabilities. In contrast, the plasma levels of MDA were about three times higher after (+)-MDMA. (+)-MDMA caused a rapid increase in striatal dialysate levels of dopamine and decreased extracellular levels of dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA). There was a significant correlation between dopamine concentration in striatal dialysate and plasma MDMA concentration, but not with plasma MDA. These results indicate that MDMA itself has stereoselective actions on dopamine neurons. However, the higher plasma MDA levels after (+)-MDMA may account for part of the enantiomeric differences in the behavioral and neurotoxicological effects of MDMA.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Disposition of methylenedioxymethamphetamine and three metabolites in the brains of different rat strains and their possible roles in acute serotonin depletion. Biochemical Pharmacology March 1, 1996
- Reinforcing effects of certain serotonin-releasing amphetamine derivatives. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior January 1996
- The use of toxicokinetics for the safety assessment of drugs acting in the brain. Molecular Neurobiology 1995
- Effect of the R(-) and S(+) isomers of MDA and MDMA on phosphatidyl inositol turnover in cultured cells expressing 5-HT2A or 5-HT2C receptors. Neuroscience Letters August 1, 1994
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and 8 more in the library