Posted by Chairman_MAO on February 20, 2004, at 21:12:20
In reply to Dopamine release, posted by 1980monroe on February 20, 2004, at 11:11:41
I am no expert, but it's all about potency and route of administration. Meth is simply more potent than regular amphetamine, so it can be more neurotoxic (although I'm fairly sure there are specific differences in toxicity that I do not know about). It is possible to overexcite neurons to the point of death, but this requires fairly high doses. Also, the more dopamine that is released, the more toxic byproducts of dopamine degradation by MAO-B are produced, and the more oxidative stress DA neurons are subjected to. This can be eliminated altogether with selegiline, and some have said here that there is evidence that memantine can prevent tolerance to stimulants to some degree. Not sure if I buy it. I'd like to hear from humans who've actually tried this.
MDMA is far more neurotoxic in therapeutic doses than methamphetamine is. This serotonergic neurotoxicity is caused by the serotonin reuptake transporter becoming less selective in uptake due to MDMA and taking up toxic byproducts of DA degredation that they're not built to deal with. Again, this can be prevented altogether with selegiline.
poster:Chairman_MAO
thread:316060
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040218/msgs/316243.html