title: Differential effects of d-fenfluramine and p-chloroamphetamine on H75/12-induced depletion of 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine in the rat brain.
abstract: The effects of the two 5-HT-releasing drugs, p-chloroamphetamine and d-fenfluramine, on central serotoninergic and dopaminergic systems were compared in adult rats. Both drugs (0.5-5.0 mg/kg i.p., 2 hr before death) produced a dose-dependent reduction in levels of 5-HT, but only p-chloroamphetamine decreased the levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the hippocampus, striatum and cerebral cortex. Within the dose range tested, d-fenfluramine did not affect the levels of DA and of its metabolites dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) in brain. By contrast, p-chloroamphetamine significantly increased the levels of DA and HVA and decreased the levels of DOPAC, notably in the striatum. As expected of a 5-HT uptake inhibitor, d-fenfluramine at small doses (0.2-0.5 mg/kg) prevented the depletion of 5-HT due to 4-methyl-alpha-ethyl-meta-tyramine (H75/12, 40 mg/kg i.p.), whereas at large doses (1.0-5.0 mg/kg) d-fenfluramine, like p-chloroamphetamine (0.2-1.0 mg/kg), slightly enhanced the effect of H75/12. Neither d-fenfluramine (0.5 mg/kg) nor p-chloroamphetamine (0.5 mg/kg) affected the depletion of DA due to H75/12. These data indicate that p-chloroamphetamine is a 5-HT-releasing drug, at any dose between 0.2 and 5.0 mg/kg, whereas d-fenfluramine acts as a 5-HT uptake inhibitor at 0.2-0.5 mg/kg and as a 5-HT releasing drug at larger doses. On account of the potential neurotoxicity of 5-HT-releasing drugs but not 5-HT uptake inhibitors, it can be inferred that d-fenfluramine is very probably devoid of any neurotoxic action in the dose range (less than 1.0 mg/kg) required for its anorectic action.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U288, Neurobiologie Cellulaire et Fonctionnelle, Faculté de Médecine Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Fattaccini
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gozlan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamon
mesh_terms: D015102:3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D000662:Amphetamines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005277:Fenfluramine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012016:Reference Values; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D010133:p-Chloroamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000662:Amphetamines; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; D015102:3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid; C001632:4-methyl-alpha-ethyl-m-tyramine; D005277:Fenfluramine; D012701:Serotonin; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D010133:p-Chloroamphetamine; D004298:Dopamine; D006719:Homovanillic Acid