Persistent nigrostriatal dopaminergic abnormalities in ex-users of MDMA (‘Ecstasy’): An 18F-dopa PET study
Persistent nigrostriatal dopaminergic abnormalities in ex-users of MDMA (‘Ecstasy’): An 18F-dopa PET study
Ecstasy (±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is a popular recreational drug with known serotonergic neurotoxicity. Its long-term effects on dopaminergic function are less certain. Studying the long-term effects of ecstasy is often confounded by concomitant polydrug use and the short duration of abstinence. We used 18F-dopa positron emission tomography (PET) to investigate the long-term effects of ecstasy on nigrostriatal dopaminergic function in a group of male ex-recreational users of ecstasy who had been abstinent for a mean of 3.22 years. We studied 14 ex-ecstasy users (EEs), 14 polydrug-using controls (PCs) (matched to the ex-users for other recreational drug use), and 12 drug-naive controls (DCs). Each participant underwent one 18F-dopa PET, cognitive assessments, and hair and urinary analyses to corroborate drug-use history. The putamen 18F-dopa uptake of EEs was 9% higher than that of DCs (p=0.021). The putamen uptake rate of PCs fell between the other two groups, suggesting that the hyperdopaminergic state in EEs may be due to the combined effects of ecstasy and polydrug use. There was no relationship between the amount of ecstasy used and striatal 18F-dopa uptake. Increased putaminal 18F-dopa uptake in EEs after an abstinence of >3 years (mean) suggests that the effects are long lasting. Our findings suggest potential long-term effects of ecstasy use, in conjunction with other recreational drugs, on nigrostriatal dopaminergic functions. Further longitudinal studies are required to elucidate the significance of these findings as they may have important public health implications.
mdma, ecstasy, addiction, dopamine, f-dopa, pet
735-743
Tai, F.
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Hoshi, Rosa
cb857779-b8c4-4dd8-914c-ec22cd0b9d01
Brignell, Catherine M.
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Cohen, Lisa
04522212-c50c-4f5a-b798-26ab51adaf87
Brooks, David J.
1b2437af-8323-4461-a9a8-ec74936a3c6c
Curran, Valerie
15a6173a-2aaf-4f98-89e3-491e0648e0bc
Piccini, Paolo
ad0b63e6-413d-45e9-97ed-f63fad64ede5
December 2010
Tai, F.
44dd399c-d097-4605-99b1-c3ce00784287
Hoshi, Rosa
cb857779-b8c4-4dd8-914c-ec22cd0b9d01
Brignell, Catherine M.
ec44ecae-8687-4bbb-bc81-8c2c8f27febd
Cohen, Lisa
04522212-c50c-4f5a-b798-26ab51adaf87
Brooks, David J.
1b2437af-8323-4461-a9a8-ec74936a3c6c
Curran, Valerie
15a6173a-2aaf-4f98-89e3-491e0648e0bc
Piccini, Paolo
ad0b63e6-413d-45e9-97ed-f63fad64ede5
Tai, F., Hoshi, Rosa, Brignell, Catherine M., Cohen, Lisa, Brooks, David J., Curran, Valerie and Piccini, Paolo
(2010)
Persistent nigrostriatal dopaminergic abnormalities in ex-users of MDMA (‘Ecstasy’): An 18F-dopa PET study.
Neuropsychopharmacology, 36, .
(doi:10.1038/npp.2010.201).
(PMID:21160467)
Abstract
Ecstasy (±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is a popular recreational drug with known serotonergic neurotoxicity. Its long-term effects on dopaminergic function are less certain. Studying the long-term effects of ecstasy is often confounded by concomitant polydrug use and the short duration of abstinence. We used 18F-dopa positron emission tomography (PET) to investigate the long-term effects of ecstasy on nigrostriatal dopaminergic function in a group of male ex-recreational users of ecstasy who had been abstinent for a mean of 3.22 years. We studied 14 ex-ecstasy users (EEs), 14 polydrug-using controls (PCs) (matched to the ex-users for other recreational drug use), and 12 drug-naive controls (DCs). Each participant underwent one 18F-dopa PET, cognitive assessments, and hair and urinary analyses to corroborate drug-use history. The putamen 18F-dopa uptake of EEs was 9% higher than that of DCs (p=0.021). The putamen uptake rate of PCs fell between the other two groups, suggesting that the hyperdopaminergic state in EEs may be due to the combined effects of ecstasy and polydrug use. There was no relationship between the amount of ecstasy used and striatal 18F-dopa uptake. Increased putaminal 18F-dopa uptake in EEs after an abstinence of >3 years (mean) suggests that the effects are long lasting. Our findings suggest potential long-term effects of ecstasy use, in conjunction with other recreational drugs, on nigrostriatal dopaminergic functions. Further longitudinal studies are required to elucidate the significance of these findings as they may have important public health implications.
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Published date: December 2010
Keywords:
mdma, ecstasy, addiction, dopamine, f-dopa, pet
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Local EPrints ID: 176437
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/176437
PURE UUID: 57ac6d5d-a6a9-4164-8182-4c17af0dc55d
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Date deposited: 07 Mar 2011 11:31
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:50
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Author:
F. Tai
Author:
Rosa Hoshi
Author:
Lisa Cohen
Author:
David J. Brooks
Author:
Valerie Curran
Author:
Paolo Piccini
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