Using Natural Zeolite as a Transporter of Dopamine

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Back to table of contents Previous article Next article LettersFull AccessUsing Natural Zeolite as a Transporter of DopamineMona Delavarian, Ph.D. Student, Ali Hassanvand, M.Sc., and Shahriar Gharibzadeh, M.D., Ph.D.Mona DelavarianSearch for more papers by this author, Ph.D. Student, Ali HassanvandSearch for more papers by this author, M.Sc., and Shahriar GharibzadehSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Ph.D.Published Online:1 Jan 2013https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.12010018AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail To the Editor: Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder that causes problems in attention, monitoring, executive attention, and inhibition responses. Some areas with low activities have been identified in the central nervous system of children with ADHD by SPECT studies.1 One of them, the cortical-striatal-thalamic-cortical network, is known to be the area of dopamine concentration.1 Some evidence showed that the function of dopamine and serotonin are altered in ADHD.2 It is worth noting that anxiety is one of the symptoms that can exist in ADHD as a secondary feature.1Zeolites are crystalline materials that have regular structure. This structure contains TO4 tetrahedra (T=Si and Al) that are linked by O-bridges and form the network of nano-pores. The internal volume of zeolites consists of channels that can have 1 to 3 dimensions, and their pore sizes range from 0.2 nm to 0.8 nm. Zeolites exist both in natural and artificial forms. The natural zeolites are used for many applications and have many properties such as cation concentration and exchange selectivity and can play a role in catalysis, adsorption, and separation systems.3On the other hand, the effects of natural zeolites have been studied on neurons in experimental studies. One research study shows that the clinoptilolite zeolite and montmorillonite are effective to decrease stress and produce a soothing positive effect of sleep.4 Also, the effect of natural clinoptilolite has been studied on the serotonergic receptors in the brains of mice with mammary carcinoma. Zeolite Y is also used for determination and detection of dopamine and serotonin.5We hypothesize that if natural zeolite is used as carrier of dopa into the brain, two advantages may be obtained: 1) increasing dopamine by dopa; and 2) decreasing stress by zeolite. Using this dopa, substituted-zeolite may diminish the side effects of administrating different drugs. Surely, clinical data must be collected to uphold the safety of this hypothesis.Biomedical Engineering Faculty Amirkabir University of Technologye-mail: [email protected]ac.irReferences1 Sadock BJ, Sadock VA: Kaplan & Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry, 10th Ed., Baltimore, MD, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007Google Scholar2 Oades RD: Dopamine–serotonin interactions in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Prog Brain Res 2008; 172:543–565Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar3 Auerbach SM, Carrado KA, Dutta PK: Handbook of Zeolite Science and Technology. New York, Marcel Dekker, 2003, pp 17–19Crossref, Google Scholar4 Hecht K, Hecht-Savoley EN: Naturmineralien, Regulation, Gersundheit, 2nd Ed. Strasburg, Germany, Schibri-Verlag, 2007Google Scholar5 Teixeira MFS, Bergamini MF, Marques CMP, et al.: Voltametric determination of L-dopa using an electrode modified with trinuclear ruthenium ammine complex (Ru-red) supported on Y-type zeolite. Talanta 2004; 63:1083–1088Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByMolecules, Vol. 24, No. 8Biomaterials Science, Vol. 6, No. 5 Volume 25Issue 1 Winter 2013Pages E21-E21 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 January 2013 Published in print 1 January 2013