Posted by iforgotmypassword on March 8, 2011, at 14:38:01
In reply to Amphetamine Use Linked To Parkinson's Disease, posted by Phillipa on February 28, 2011, at 19:30:55
AMP interferes with VMAT2, and reverses the safe storage of DA in vesicles, and this is how AMP increases DA; but DAT is left mostly unchecked and begins transporting elevated amounts of DA back into the unguarded intracellular environment where its breakdown is quite toxic and creates reactive oxygen species, killing cells. it is theorised that this is what causes the intractable apathy, and blown executive function, proper inhibition/disinhibition in those having dealt with sufficient AMP and meth-AMP addiction; but that somehow functioning of mesocortical and mesolimbic pathways go first, rather than what is assumed in parkinson's where nigrostriatal pathway degeneration is what's focused on.
seemingly out of place but important: while indeed i am saying there may be a "level of priority" in how the damage takes place in differing situations, an extreme black and white form of this thinking i think is improperly taken for granted due to professional ignorance of certain types of symptoms in medicine and our right-wing-libertarian-slanted culture that sees certain problems as moral before neurological; the reality that many of us personally may be subject to here on this forum is that this thinking perpetually dooms people with potential dopaminergic dysfunction OF ANY TYPE that should be explored, and neglects the humanitarian goals we associate with medicine. if medicine is to be credibly humanitarian, that is, i guess.
so to clarify, i don't think it can be seen as having a very selective effect on the mesocortical and mesolimbic pathwayss, it still could not in anyway be healthy for the nigrostriatal pathway, and i think this is what they may be seeing, also consider the extreme movement effects of AMP overuse short term and long term, "meth-mouth", etc.
controlling intracellular DA by interfering with DAT is why MPH, despite often feeling more agitating and thus making a subject sometimes feel that it is more unhealthy and 'dirtier' at effective doses, MPH is proposed to be neuroprotective and certainly seems to be in animal models, including as a preventative against AMP related damage.
(i apoligise for the total lack of order. as usual i have too much trouble with this, and if i am going to send anything at all i have to keep as is.)
poster:iforgotmypassword
thread:979946
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110220/msgs/980262.html