Caffeine, Nicotine and MDMA Effects on Retina suggestive of Potential Functional Consequences
Joshua O. Owolabi, Philip O. Ogunnaike
Ophthalmology Research: An International Journal August 20, 2021 DOI: 10.9734/or/2021/v15i130202 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled animal experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Juvenile male Wistar rats |
| Interventions | Caffeine Nicotine MDMA |
| Dose | Caffeine 30 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg body weight; nicotine 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg body weight; MDMA 20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg body weight |
| Measures | Retinal thickness, GFAP expression, rhodopsin expression |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key findings | Prolonged administration of caffeine, nicotine, and MDMA to juvenile male rats reduced retinal thickness at higher doses and produced aberrant GFAP expression patterns, with MDMA groups showing the greatest abnormality. No extensive loss of retinal cell types was observed, and rhodopsin expression suggested active rods and relatively healthy cones, leading the authors to conclude the changes did not amount to pathological hallmarks of retinal degeneration. |
Abstract
The implications of the use of psychoactive substances, that are usually abused on the retina are yet to be adequately explored. The retina is neural in nature. Most investigations on psychoactive agents have only studied their effects on the brain and behaviour. The mechanisms employed by these agents in producing their effects on the brain suggest that the retina, being neural, might also be significantly affected by the use of the substances. This research investigated the effects of the prolonged use of caffeine, nicotine and 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA] on the retina. Juvenile male experimental Wistar were grouped and administered the lower and higher dose of each agent while a reference group remained as the Group A. Groups B and C received the lower [30mg/kg body weight]and the higher [50mg/kg body weight]doses of caffeine respectively; Groups D and E received the lower [10mg/kg body weight] and higher [20mg/kg body weight] doses of nicotine respectively while Groups F and G received the lower [20 mg/kg body weight] and the higher [40 mg/kg body weight] doses of MDMA respectively. The substances had effects on the thickness of the retina with higher doses in each instance causing reductions in retina thickness; the patterns of GFAP expression were also aberrant with the MDMA treated groups being most aberrant. There was no sign of extensive loss of any type of retinal cells. Rhodopsin expression generally demonstrated active rods and provided insight into relatively heathy cones. There is evidence that these agents altered retina thickness and GFAP expression but without extensive disruptions to serve as pathological hallmarks of retina degeneration. The consequences of these might be further investigated.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.