Amphetamine treatment similar to that used in the treatment of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder damages dopaminergic nerve endings in the striatum of adult nonhuman primates.
Pharmacotherapy with amphetamine is effective in the management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), now recognized in adults as well as in children and adolescents. Here we demonstrate that amphetamine treatment, similar to that used clinically for adult ADHD, damages dopaminergic nerve endings in the striatum of adult nonhuman primates. Furthermore, plasma concentrations of amphetamine associated with dopaminergic neurotoxicity in nonhuman primates are on the order of those reported in young patients receiving amphetamine for the management of ADHD. These findings may have implications for the pathophysiology and treatment of ADHD. Further preclinical and clinical studies are needed to evaluate the dopaminergic neurotoxic potential of therapeutic doses of amphetamine in children as well as adults.
Ricaurte
George A
GA
Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 5501 Hopkins Bayview Circle, Rm. 5B.71E, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. ricaurte@jhmi.edu
Mechan
Annis O
AO
Yuan
Jie
J
Hatzidimitriou
George
G
Xie
Tao
T
Mayne
Andrew H
AH
McCann
Una D
UD
D000661:Amphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D010215:Papio; D012453:Saimiri
D000661:Amphetamine