THURSDAY, April 13 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've gained new insight into how amphetamines like ecstasy or "crystal meth" harm the brain.
In studies with mice, a team at the University of Toronto found that these drugs are converted in the brain into free radicals -- highly reactive molecules that cause neurodegenerative brain damage. The effects of this free radical damage can linger a long time after the amphetamine has left the body, the researchers say. Free radicals have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
The Toronto team also believes that prostaglandin H synthase (PHS) -- an enzyme that synthesizes a range of hormones -- plays a critical role in the transformation of amphetamines into free radicals.
The findings appear in the April issue of the FASEB Journal, published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
Further study is required to determine if these findings apply to humans, the researchers said.
The findings about the role of PHS in converting amphetamines into free radicals in the brain may be relevant to neurodegenerative risks associated with aging, the researchers said.
"Preliminary results from other studies suggest that PHS may convert other compounds in our brains into free radicals, and there is some evidence in the clinical literature that suggests patients who take high does of PHS-inhibiting drugs such as aspirin may experience less neurodegeneration," study lead author Professor Peter Wells, of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, said in a prepared statement.
"The potential of substances like aspirin to prevent neurodegenerative damage merits more examination, particularly among people who take it chronically for pain," Wells said.
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