3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) administration induces alterations in rat electroretinogram

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) administration induces alterations in rat electroretinogram Joao Martins1, 2*, Claudia Cavadas2, 3, Eduarda Fernandes4, Felix Carvalho4, Miguel Castelo-Branco1 and Antonio F. Ambrosio1, 2 1 University of Coimbra, Center of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, IBILI, Faculty of Medicine, Portugal 2 University of Coimbra, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Portugal 3 University of Coimbra, Laboratory of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Portugal 4 REQUIMTE, University of Porto, Toxicology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Portugal The recreational drug 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), the major constituent of ecstasy tablets, which usually produces a euphoric state, may also cause adverse medical consequences, namely hyperthermia. It has also been demonstrated that MDMA causes toxic effects in the brain. However, although significant levels of MDMA have been found in the vitreous of MDMA users, the potential harmful effects of MDMA in retinal physiology have not been investigated. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the effect of a single MDMA administration in rat electroretinogram (ERG).Male Wistar rats were intraperitoneally injected with MDMA (15 mg/kg) or saline. The saline-treated animals were further divided into two groups: control and hyperthermic. The hyperthermic animals were allowed to increase body temperature to a similar level of MDMA-treated ones, 3h after treatment (i.e. injection with MDMA or saline). ERGs were recorded 24h before and 3h and 24h after treatment, being the results normalized to the first ERG test. Dark-adapted and light-adapted retinal light responses were evaluated. Four different ERG responses were recorded: scotopic luminance responses, photopic adaptometry, photopic luminance responses and photopic flicker. In addition, several parameters were obtained from the original ERG waveforms: a-wave amplitude, b-wave amplitude, a-wave and b-wave time to peak or “latency”, individual OP amplitude and time to peak values.We found a significant increase (up to 50%) in both a-wave and b-wave amplitudes and a significant decrease (≈ 10%) in time to peak values of a-wave, b-wave, and individual oscillatory potentials in MDMA and hyperthermic animals, 3h after treatment, compared to control animals. Twenty-four hours after treatment only MDMA-treated animals presented a significant increase (≈ 50%) in a-wave amplitude values, for the higher light intensities used, compared to both hyperthermic and control animals.In conclusion, we show, for the first time, that MDMA induces ERG changes in the rat retina 3h and 24h after a single administration. However, 3h after MDMA administration the hyperthermia achieved appears to be the main reason for the ERG changes observed. Further studies will be important to evaluate the long-term effects of a single or repeated MDMA administration in retinal physiology, and therefore to identify potential harmful effects in the retina of ecstasy users.Support: Project GAPI 01/07, Faculty Medicine, University Coimbra Conference: 11th Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience, Braga, Portugal, 4 Jun - 6 Jun, 2009. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Neuronal Communication Citation: Martins J, Cavadas C, Fernandes E, Carvalho F, Castelo-Branco M and Ambrosio AF (2009). 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) administration induces alterations in rat electroretinogram. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: 11th Meeting of the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.01.2009.11.120 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 11 Aug 2009; Published Online: 11 Aug 2009. * Correspondence: Joao Martins, University of Coimbra, Center of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, IBILI, Faculty of Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal, nemoABS01@frontiersin.org Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Joao Martins Claudia Cavadas Eduarda Fernandes Felix Carvalho Miguel Castelo-Branco Antonio F Ambrosio Google Joao Martins Claudia Cavadas Eduarda Fernandes Felix Carvalho Miguel Castelo-Branco Antonio F Ambrosio Google Scholar Joao Martins Claudia Cavadas Eduarda Fernandes Felix Carvalho Miguel Castelo-Branco Antonio F Ambrosio PubMed Joao Martins Claudia Cavadas Eduarda Fernandes Felix Carvalho Miguel Castelo-Branco Antonio F Ambrosio Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.