Amphetamines May Increase Risk of Parkinson's Disease, Study Suggests

[AfterGlow]

Drugwatch.com
February 21, 2011, 04:02 pm

The use of prescription amphetamines may increase an individual's risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life, according to the results of a new study released Saturday.

The study followed 66,348 participants over an average period of 38.8 years. When patients initially enrolled in the study, they were asked if they had ever taken weight loss drugs, and more specifically, if they had ever taken the amphetamines Benzedrine or Dexedrine.

Researchers found that patients who had taken Benzedrine or Dexedrine developed Parkinson's disease at a higher rate than patients who admitted using weight-loss drugs but did not take the amphetamines.

The researchers, however, stressed that the study only suggests an association between Parkinson's disease and amphetamine use, not a causal relationship. Experts maintain further research is needed to assess the exact link between the two factors.

Amphetamines are psychostimulant drugs commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy and, in some cases, obesity. They work by regulating the release and absorption of dopamine, a key chemical messenger that is often present in low levels in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is a chronic neurological illness that causes the progressive loss of movement control. The condition is one of the most prevalent neurological illnesses in the United States, second only to Alzheimer's disease.

link

 

[23536]

why?

 

[villian]

Yet another reason I am utterly disgusted with the over prescription of amphetamines to teens and preteens.

 

[LogicSoDeveloped]

Yeah...I was prescribed various amphs for 4 months. Quit taking them when I couldn't go through a day without having several panic attacks and had to drink alcohol through the comedowns. Needless to say, I told my doctor and quit them.

 

[Tomer]

Honestly...The number of patients in this trial was 66,000. That's a really small sample size and they fail to say what the percentage was of those 66,000 people. I wish this article provided a little more substance.

 

[Tomer]

Also, can someone explain to me the distinction between 'association' and 'casual'??

 

[severely etarded]

Yet another reason I am utterly disgusted with the over prescription of amphetamines to teens and preteens.

and 4 & 5 year olds that are "too hyper"

 

[severely etarded]

Also, can someone explain to me the distinction between 'association' and 'casual'??

causual, not casual lol. the cause.

 

[23536]

sorta glad I quit Adderall last month after 2 years of daily use:

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/315/1/91.long

Regional concentrations of (A) dopamine and (B) serotonin in baboons (n = 3) 2 to 4 weeks after amphetamine treatment. Cd, caudate; Put, putamen; OT, olfactory tubercle; NAc, nucleus accumbens; FC, frontal cortex; PC, parietal cortex; and TC, temporal cortex. Values shown represent the mean ± S.E.M. from three independent subjects. *, p < 0.05, two-tailed t test.

 

[severely etarded]

Amphetamines are psychostimulant drugs commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy and, in some cases, obesity. They work by regulating the release and absorption of dopamine, a key chemical messenger that is often present in low levels in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Is this the relationship? wtf? low dopamine levels ---> parkinson's? idk.. kind of an over reach, no?

 

[severely etarded]

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/315/1/91.long

Regional concentrations of (A) dopamine and (B) serotonin in baboons (n = 3) 2 to 4 weeks after amphetamine treatment. Cd, caudate; Put, putamen; OT, olfactory tubercle; NAc, nucleus accumbens; FC, frontal cortex; PC, parietal cortex; and TC, temporal cortex. Values shown represent the mean ± S.E.M. from three independent subjects. *, p < 0.05, two-tailed t test.

I don't really doubt the graph, but whats with the * above the dopamine levels in some of the sambles. And only 3 subjects tested?

 

[Tomer]

Severely, thanks. Brain fart of the night, I guess.

I wish more research was/is done on this before releasing results such as this one. Not conclusive enough; simply throws people into a deep panic on long term use.

Tomer

 

[23536]

I don't really doubt the graph, but whats with the * above the dopamine levels in some of the sambles. And only 3 subjects tested?

the asterisks mean that the p-value was less than 0.05 (cuz it's hard to see how high the "T" on top of each of those bars is) and the small sample size I guess is due to them not being able to afford more baboons (you have to kill them to dissect their brains)

weird: I've been off amps for 4 weeks now and I don't feel depressed. If there's like a 50% drop in the dopamine in certain regions of my brain, shouldn't I feel like a slime mold?

 

[.dp]

Yet another reason I am utterly disgusted with the over prescription of amphetamines to teens and preteens.

as european it s totally crazy for me anyway... i doubt there is any benefit in it except forcing people to take dopamin inhibitor for being able to function daily because of persistent damage.

 

[Dragynfyr]

correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we already know this?

Remember when that scum ball George Ricaurte 'accidentally' gave his lab monkies meth because he wanted to show MDMA was dangerous? That was the source of the mdma parkinsons myth, that fuck knew before hand exactly what he was doing. Might be over extending the data obviously since meth isn't amp, but crose enough perhaps?

 

[PwnX]

Sure they may increase the risk... if you take a stupidly high dose over an extended period of time, have chronically near-depleted dopamine and fry half of your DA receptors. Just take an NMDA antagonist to slow down tolerance/reduce toxicity, take occasional breaks and refrain from abusing them.

Honestly, as somebody with ADHD, I'd rather run the risk of developing Parkinson's later on in life than be the way I am now, totally incapable of functioning normally.

 

[23536]

...and fry half of your DA receptors. Just take an NMDA antagonist to slow down tolerance/reduce toxicity...

about the DA receptors: I think it's actually the axons that undergo apoptosis after amphetamine toxicity, so DA receptor density would be beside the point.

also, I can vouch that NMDA antagonists seem to reverse amphetamine tolerance and prevent toxicity, but is there any real proof of this?

 

[nervousone]

Remember when that scum ball George Ricaurte 'accidentally' gave his lab monkies meth because he wanted to show MDMA was dangerous? That was the source of the mdma parkinsons myth, that fuck knew before hand exactly what he was doing. Might be over extending the data obviously since meth isn't amp, but crose enough perhaps?

Ricaurte is respected scientist and I don't think that was intentional on his part. I believe that what happened was that the supplier of the MDMA (the government) is the one who intentionally gave him meth to skew the results. This is all speculation of course.

 

[34-dihydroxyphen]

Ricaurte is respected scientist and I don't think that was intentional on his part. I believe that what happened was that the supplier of the MDMA (the government) is the one who intentionally gave him meth to skew the results. This is all speculation of course.

Dude has an entire history of fucking with studies in order to make drugs appear more dangerous. He may have respect within the government, but I doubt he has respect within the real scientific community.

If you remember the study, not only were the monkeys given methamphetamine instead of MDMA, they were IV'd and given to them every day. The results would have been skewed no matter what.

 

[nopipesdfw]

Not to back big pharma, but this study was done by monkeys.