title: Increased dopaminergic and 5-hydroxytryptaminergic activities in male rat brain following long-term treatment with anabolic androgenic steroids.
abstract: 1. The effects of treating groups of rats with four different anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) (testosterone, nandrolone, methandrostenolone, and oxymetholone) on 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) neurones in different brain regions were examined. The AAS was injected six times with 1 week's interval and the rats were sacrificed 2 days after the final injection. 5-HT and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), DA and its metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured. The effect on DA and 5-HT synthesis rate was analysed as the accumulation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-alanine (DOPA) and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), respectively, after inhibition of the amino acid decarboxylase with NSD-1015 (3-hydroxy-benzylhydrazine dihydrochloride). Additionally, the monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity was analysed in the hypothalamus. 2. The DOPAC + HVA/DA ratio was increased in the striatum in all treatment groups. However, the synthesis rate of DA was significantly increased only in the methandrostenolone treated group. 3. The 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio was increased in all treatment groups in the hippocampus, in the frontal cortex in the methandrostenolone-treated animals and in the hypothalamus in the testosterone- and oxymetholone-treated rats, while the 5-HT synthesis rate was not affected by the AAS-treatments. 4. The MAO-A activity was increased in the oxymetholone-treated rats while the other treatment groups were unaffected. The MAO-B activity was not changed. 5. The results indicate that relatively high doses of AAS increase dopaminergic and 5-hydroxytryptaminergic metabolism in male rat brain, probably due to enhanced turnover in these monaminergic systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Thiblin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finn
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stenfors
mesh_terms: D015102:3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006916:5-Hydroxytryptophan / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D045930:Anabolic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008696:Methandrostenolone / Q000494:pharmacology; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013574:Synaptosomes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D045930:Anabolic Agents; D015102:3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid; D012701:Serotonin; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine; D006916:5-Hydroxytryptophan; D008696:Methandrostenolone; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase; D004298:Dopamine; D006719:Homovanillic Acid