OBJECTIVE It has been assumed that some behavioral changes associated with repeated exposure to dopaminergic psychostimulant drugs might be explained by changes in activity of dopamine receptors, including the dopamine D(1) receptor, which is linked by a stimulatory G protein to the effector enzyme adenylyl cyclase. To establish whether dopamine D(1) receptor function might be altered in human ...

Experimental studies have demonstrated that not only dopaminergic signaling but also glutamatergic/NMDA receptor signaling play indispensable roles in the development of methamphetamine psychosis. Our recent genetic studies provided evidence that genetic variants of glutamate-related genes such as DTNBP1, GLYT1, and G72, which are involved in glutamate release and regulation of co-agonists for ...

Interpretation of urine drug-testing results is a challenging endeavor for several reasons. Effects of pH, dilution, legitimate and illicit sources of the drugs, and, perhaps the most challenging, the possibility of the methamphetamine and/or amphetamine being the result of the use of some other drug. Although it is known that 14 different compounds are metabolized to methamphetamine or ampheta...

BACKGROUND Methamphetamine is one of the most toxic of the drugs of abuse, which may reflect its distribution and accumulation in the body. However no studies have measured methamphetamine's organ distribution in the human body. METHODS Positron Emission Tomography (PET) was used in conjunction with [(11)C]d-methamphetamine to measure its whole-body distribution and bioavailability as assesse...

The effects of l-amphetamine on the spontaneous firing of central neurons of African snails (Achatina fulica Ferussac) were studied electrophysiologically. The effects of dopamine, noradrenaline, d-amphetamine, and methamphetamine on the central neurons also were tested. The l- and d-amphetamines (0.3 mM) elicited bursting firing of action potentials in the RP4 neuron of the snail, whereas dopa...

Methamphetamine is a popular drug of abuse that is neurotoxic to dopamine (DA) terminals when administered to laboratory animals. Studies in methamphetamine abusers have also documented significant loss of DA transporters (used as markers of the DA terminal) that are associated with slower motor function and decreased memory. The extent to which the loss of DA transporters predisposes methamphe...

s and Publications Funded by the award during 6/1/2000 to 6/30/2006 A. Abstracts 35 poster or slide presentations have been presented. B. Peer-Reviewed Publications 17 peer-reviewed papers have been published. Burrows, K., Nixdorf, W., and Yamamoto, B.K. Central administration of methamphetamine synergizes with metabolic inhibition to deplete striatal monoamines. J. Pharm. & Exptl. Therapeutics...

The effects of D-methamphetamine HCl (1, 2 and 4 mg/kg, i.p.) and alpha-methyldopa (1, 2 and 4 mg/kg, i.p.) on rectal temperature and on ethanol (3 g/kg, i.p.)-induced hypothermia have been investigated in mice. Methamphetamine caused a dose-dependent hyperthermia, but methyldopa induced hypothermia, which decreased with increases in dose. Methamphetamine antagonized the hypothermic effect of e...

The multiple risks associated with methamphetamine use are of serious concern for women. These risks and consequences are magnified during pregnancy. This secondary analysis of a parent study compared 26 pregnant to 356 nonpregnant women in Cape Town, South Africa, on selected demographic, psychosocial, and HIV-risk domains to identify their treatment service needs. Proportionally, more pregnan...

Both lobeline and lobelane attenuate methamphetamine self-administration in rats by decreasing methamphetamine-induced dopamine release via interaction with the vesicular monoamine transporter-2 (VMAT2). A novel derivative of nor-lobelane, cis-2,5-di-(2phenethyl)-pyrrolidine hydrochloride (UKCP-110) and its trans-isomers, (2R,5R)-trans-di-(2phenethyl)-pyrrolidine hydrochloride (UKCP-111) and (2...