RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Pharmacologic mechanisms of crystal meth
JF Canadian Medical Association Journal
JO CMAJ
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP 1679
OP 1682
DO 10.1503/cmaj.071675
VO 178
IS 13
A1 Stephen J. Kish, PhD
YR 2008
UL http://www.cmaj.ca/content/178/13/1679.abstract
AB Crystal meth is a form of the stimulant drug methamphetamine that, when smoked, can rapidly achieve high concentrations in the brain. Methamphetamine causes the release of the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin and activates the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. The levels of dopamine are low in the brain of some drug users, but whether this represents neuronal loss is uncertain. The areas of the brain involved in methamphetamine addiction are unknown but probably include the dopamine-rich striatum and regions that interact with the striatum. There is no medication approved for the treatment of relapses of methamphetamine addiction; however, potential therapeutic agents targeted to dopamine and nondopamine (e.g., opioid) systems are in clinical testing.