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 Research into Meth's Impact

Differences Between Male, Female Brain With Prenatal Exposure to Meth?

Researchers from the Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, a subdivision of Oregon Health and Science University, report new findings from studies on mice with prenatal and/or early exposure to Meth.   They have discovered mice experiencing such exposure show impairment in object recognition, and spatial learning and memory. And female mice are more susceptible than male mice to Meth exposure early in life.

Now the scientists are setting up a new study to find out if humans are affected the same way as the mice.  They are recruiting children, both those who were exposed to Meth before birth and others who have never been exposed to it.  They will also try to determine if a specific gene, also associated with Alzheimer’s disease, helps determine the extent of Meth’s affects on unborn children.

You can access the MARC news release concerning the upcoming study here.


Meth Use Increases Risk of Heart Disease

Research suggests a link between a disease of the heart muscle called cardiomyopathy and Meth use.  The research, conducted at a medical center in Hawaii, reviewed charts of all patients aged 45 and younger discharged with a diagnosis of cardiomyopathy between January 2001 and June 2004.  There were 107 patients. These were compared with 114 controls matched for age but discharged without evidence of heart trouble.
After adjusting for age, body weight and renal failure, the researchers found that the odds of cardiomyopathy was 3.7-fold higher in Meth users compared with non-users.

SOURCE: American Journal of Medicine, February 2007.  Access the study’s abstract


Strokes in Young People May be Tied to Meth Use


A researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas examined two women, ages 29 and 36, both of whom used Meth and then suddenly experienced weakness and difficulty in speaking. Brain scans revealed both women had suffered severe strokes from tears in the inner lining of one of the major arteries in the neck, an injury known as carotid artery dissection.
  On the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, a score over 16 suggests a high chance of death or severe disability. The 29-year-old woman received a score of 17, while the 36-year-old woman received a 21. Besides Meth abuse, the women did not have any other significant risk factors for stroke. Both recovered with mild to moderate disabilities after stroke therapy.
Access Article in Scientific American
Medical Professionals may be interested in a more detailed article
 


Meth Opens Path for AIDS
in Users’ Bodies

Scientists have long known that Meth use creates a kind of euphoria that can lead to increased risky behavior and contribute to the spread of HIV infection.  Now, researchers have shown a second way that Meth increases the risk of infection and can speed up the pace of the disease. It is at the level of the virus interacting with the cells of the body, at the same juncture that is responsible for the pleasurable effects of Meth. 
A cellular biologist at the University at Buffalo examined a part of the immune system (dendritic cells) that the HIV virus initially latches onto when entering a body.  He followed the action of Meth as it attached itself to dopamine receptors on cells.  The drug somehow forces the creation of more of a specific molecule that HIV grabs on to near the surface of the skin.  Then, the cells with the HIV attached travels deeper into the immune system.  The sheer number of virus molecules attached to the Meth-activated dendritc cells overwhelms the natural defensive cells (T-cells) of the human body.

The study was published online on Aug. 4, 2006 in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology.

 



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