Navigation Links
Cocaine's effects on brain metabolism may contribute to abuse
Date:2/18/2008

UPTON, NY - Many studies on cocaine addiction - and attempts to block its addictiveness - have focused on dopamine transporters, proteins that reabsorb the brain's "reward" chemical once its signal is sent. Since cocaine blocks dopamine transporters from doing their recycling job, it leaves the feel-good chemical around to keep sending the pleasure signal. Now a new study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory suggests that cocaine's effects go beyond the dopamine system. In the study, cocaine had significant effects on brain metabolism, even in mice that lack the gene for dopamine transporters.

"In dopamine-transporter-deficient mice, these effects on metabolism are clearly independent of cocaine's effects on dopamine," said Brookhaven neuroscientist Panayotis (Peter) Thanos, who led the research. "These metabolic factors may be a strong regulator of cocaine use and abuse, and may also suggest new avenues for addiction treatments." The study will appear in the May 2008 issue of the journal Synapse, and will be available online on Monday, February 18, 2008.

The scientists used positron emission tomography, or PET scanning, to measure brain metabolism in dopamine-transporter deficient mice (known as DAT knockouts) and in littermates that had normal dopamine transporter levels. In this technique, the scientists administer a radioactively labeled form of sugar (glucose) - the brain's main "fuel" - and use the PET scanner to track its site-specific concentrations in various brain regions. They tested the mice before and after cocaine administration, and compared the results to mice treated with saline instead of the drug.

Before any treatment, mice lacking dopamine transporters had significantly higher metabolism in the thalamus and cerebellum compared with normal mice. This elevated metabolism may be linked to chronically high levels of dopamine in the DAT knockout mice. It also suggests that dopamine
'/>"/>

Contact: Karen McNulty Walsh
kmcnulty@bnl.gov
631-344-8350
DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related medicine news :

1. New study may explain Vioxx side-effects
2. 13 percent of women stop taking breast cancer drug because of side effects, U-M study finds
3. Natural aorta grafts have few side effects for infection-prone patients
4. New Report: Dangerous Drug Side Effects and Deaths Doubled Since 1998... Seniors Hit Hardest
5. Detroit Metro Tower Air Traffic Controllers File Lawsuit Alleging Improper Mold Removal and Health Effects
6. Empowerment Program Gets Patients on the PATH to Managing the Physical and Emotional Effects of Psoriatic Arthritis
7. Shaking may cause brain damage and serious long-term effects to infants
8. Smoking can harm the long-term effects of some oral surgery procedures
9. ECLIPSE data on effects of Otsukas investigational novel treatment, Tolvaptan
10. Combination therapy reverses effects of portal hypertension in rats
11. Fighting the Gassy Effects of Good Eating, From the Harvard Health Letter
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/23/2013)... May 23, 2013 If you are ... irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the food spread this Memorial ... fun. , “While hot dogs and ice cream have ... warm weather months, IBS sufferers often feel the painful ... MD, a gastroenterologist with Lourdes Medical Associates. , IBS ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... UT (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 ... a comprehensive radiology learning environment for all resident ... lessons and assessments, transforms the learning experience from ... curriculum. , “Until RADPrimer 3.0, RADPrimer ... to none,” comments Dr. B.J. Manaster, Professor of ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... a woman harried by hot flashes says she,s having ... online in Menopause , the journal of The ... tests that what these women say about their memory ... that hot flashes were related to memory problems, and ... was a relationship between hot flashes and what women ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... to its destruction inside a cell, a cancer-promoting ... thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs (miRNAs) before ... publication at Nature . , Under conditions ... epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gums up the ... scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 Transvaginal ... Bard, Inc., continue to move forward in a federal ... of West Virginia, Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. In ... a request by C.R. Bard to seal emails that ... secrets and other confidential, proprietary information about its suppliers. ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Sensitive Stomach? Lourdes Gastroenterologist Advises IBS Sufferers to Think Twice About What They Eat This Holiday Weekend 2Health News:Sensitive Stomach? Lourdes Gastroenterologist Advises IBS Sufferers to Think Twice About What They Eat This Holiday Weekend 3Health News:RADPrimer 3.0 Introduces Comprehensive Radiology Training Curriculum 2Health News:When oxygen is short, EGFR prevents maturation of cancer-fighting miRNAs 2Health News:When oxygen is short, EGFR prevents maturation of cancer-fighting miRNAs 3Health News:Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits Move Forward, as Bernstein Liebhard LLP Notes New Order in Federal C.R. Bard Mesh Implant Lawsuits 2Health News:Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits Move Forward, as Bernstein Liebhard LLP Notes New Order in Federal C.R. Bard Mesh Implant Lawsuits 3
... Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Men develop type 2 diabetes ... finding helps explain why men have higher rates of diabetes ... analyzed data from 51,920 men and 43,137 women in Scotland ... was 31.83 in men and 33.69 in women. This difference ...
... (HealthDay News) -- Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), an ... to have parents with some form of heart disease, according ... between PCOS and other family medical conditions, we might be ... an earlier stage," the study,s lead author, Michael Davies, an ...
... Goodwin HealthDay Reporter , FRIDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay ... babies, with differences from typically developing infants seen in their ... Researchers said the findings may offer new clues about the ... the children also have a larger brain. Boys ...
... consumers take heed: that high-calorie energy drink or soda ... according to a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that examined responses ... predict how he or she will respond to other ... of other more serious drugs of abuse, such as ...
... Ore. Modern medicine,s ability to save lives through organ ... prevent the human body from rejecting the transplanted organ. ... sometimes serious. A group of researchers led by scientists ... that may be causing many of those side effects. And ...
... Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly your entire brain is ... to a new study. The finding that many more ... to win games, such as rock-paper-scissors, makes sense in terms ... functions to maximize the chance of survival and reproduction, so ...
Cached Medicine News:Health News:Boys With Autism May Grow Faster as Babies 2Health News:Boys With Autism May Grow Faster as Babies 3Health News:Jonesing for java: Could caffeine use predict risk for cocaine abuse? 2Health News:Study uncovers why anti-rejection drugs for transplant patients cause hypertension 2
(Date:5/23/2013)... , May 23, 2013  Hadasit Bio-Holdings Ltd. (TASE: ... biotech companies, based on intellectual property developed and ... ,s foremost medical research center, today announced ... received significant funding from the Israeli Ministry of ... (OCS) to support product development and advance clinical ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... , May 23, 2013  Texas, premier physician ... deliver doctors the survival tools they need to provide ... in today,s health care marketplace. "I am ... save local practices," said Stephen L. Brotherton ... (TMA). " Texas doctors are determined ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. , May 23, 2013  Net ... in the telemedicine market, announced today the company has ... a telemedicine staffing company based in Huntsville, ... agency that specializes in the staffing and recruitment of ... upon completion of the final agreement, which is expected ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Hadasit Bio-Holdings Ltd. Portfolio Company - Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. Received Additional Government Support 2TMA Launches Physician Services Organization for Patient Care 2TMA Launches Physician Services Organization for Patient Care 3TMA Launches Physician Services Organization for Patient Care 4Net Medical Xpress Announces Acquisition of Telemedicine Staffing Company 2Net Medical Xpress Announces Acquisition of Telemedicine Staffing Company 3
... Ill., Dec. 15, 2010 Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: ... company, today announced that it will host a conference call ... for 2011 on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, at 8 a.m. ... and full-year 2010 results earlier that morning, before the U.S. ...
... Inc., a biotechnology company commercializing the next generation ... Antibody (RabMAb®) technology, today announced that the Company ... operating under contract with the National Cancer Institute ... (NIH) to develop several dozen rabbit monoclonal antibodies ...
Cached Medicine Technology:Epitomics Signs Antibody Development Agreement With the National Cancer Institute 2
... national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader ... offers an extensive test menu of highly ... and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University ... than half of the nation's university teaching ...
... ARUP Laboratories is a national reference laboratory ... research and development. ARUP offers an extensive ... medical tests in clinical and anatomic pathology. ... Laboratories' clients include more than half of ...
... is a national reference laboratory and a ... development. ARUP offers an extensive test menu ... in clinical and anatomic pathology. Owned by ... include more than half of the nation's ...
... reference laboratory and a worldwide leader in ... an extensive test menu of highly complex ... anatomic pathology. Owned by the University of ... half of the nation's university teaching hospitals ...
Medicine Products: