Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
August 2010
Sylvia K Shenouda, F Carvalho, Kurt J Varner
The recreational use of 3, 4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy or MDMA) has increased dramatically over the past thirty years due to its ability to increase stamina and produce feelings of emotional closeness and wellbeing. In spite of the popular perception that MDMA is a safe drug, there is a large literature documenting that the drug can produce significant neurotoxicity, especially in...
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
August 1, 2010
Causes and effects of cellular oxidative stress as a result of MDMA abuse.
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
August 1, 2010
Mice in ecstasy: advanced animal models in the study of MDMA.
Psychopharmacology
August 2010
Reem K Jan, Joanne C Lin, HeeSeung Lee et al.
Trifluoromethylphenyl piperazine (TFMPP) is an active constituent of a relatively new group of recreational drugs known as 'party pills'. TFMPP has been anecdotally reported to induce mild psychedelic effects similar to lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin. There has been no research about the subjective effects of TFMPP in humans. This study aimed to investigate the subjective effects of...
Clinical Toxicology
August 2010
Donna Seger
This article reviews the role and clinical importance of specific neuroadaptations that may occur following use of cocaine, metamfetamine, and 3,4,methylenedioxymetamfetamine (MDMA). A literature search was performed using OVID MEDLINE and PubMed for all years to the present date, which identified 250 papers of which 154 were considered relevant. MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF COCAINE AND...
Addiction Biology
July 2010
Francesco Angelucci, Valerio Ricci, Giovanni Martinotti et al.
The recreational drug 'ecstasy'[3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)] exerts a potent action on central serotonergic and dopaminergic neurons. These neurons utilize neurotrophins for their survival and function. In order to explore MDMA effects on neurotrophins, we measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay the serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth...
Psychopharmacology
June 1, 2010
Eduardo R Butelman, Szymon Rus, Thomas E Prisinzano et al.
43 citations
The widely available hallucinogen salvinorin A is a unique example of a plant-derived compound selective for kappa-opioid receptors and may produce effects distinct from those of other compounds with classic hallucinogenic or dissociative properties which are also abused in humans. The objective of this study is to characterize the salvinorin A discriminative cue in nonhuman primates with high...
British Journal of Pharmacology
May 24, 2010
Natacha Vanattou‐saïfoudine, Ruth Mcnamara, Andrew Harkin
39 citations
Background and purpose: Caffeine exacerbates the hyperthermia associated with an acute exposure to 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ‘Ecstasy’) in rats. The present study investigated the mechanisms mediating this interaction. Experimental approach: Adult male Sprague‐Dawley rats were treated with caffeine (10 mg·kg −1 ; i.p.) and MDMA (15 mg·kg −1 ; i.p.) alone and in combination. Core...
Journal of Neuroscience Research
May 15, 2010
Eva L Van Donkelaar, Paul A. Kelly, Neil Dawson et al.
The serotonergic (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) dysfunction found in depression may affect not only brain function (mood) but also cerebrovascular control. Similar, but possibly occult, disturbances may also be induced by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity (MDMA, or "ecstasy"). Acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) is widely used to identify vulnerability to depression, and we...
Psychopharmacology
May 2010
Jessica McClung, William E Fantegrossi, Leonard L. Howell
The effectiveness of MDMA and its enantiomers to reinstate responding previously maintained by drug self-administration has not been thoroughly investigated. The present study was designed to compare the reinstatement effects of amphetamine, the piperazine-analog BZP, SR(+/-)-MDMA, S(+)-MDMA, R(-)-MDMA, and fenfluramine on behavior maintained under a second-order schedule of intravenous...