Cavernomas of the central nervous system: clinical and neuroimaging manifestations in 47 patients.

Reactive oxygen species decrease dopamine transporter (DAT) functionin vitro. Because of this, and the finding that METH administration causes oxygen radical formation in vivo, the effects of METH administration on DAT activity in rat striatum were investigated. A single METH injection caused a dose-dependent (0–15 mg/kg) decrease in 3Hdopamine uptake into striatal synaptosomes prepared 1 h after METH administration; an effect attributable to a decreased Vmax of 3Hdopamine uptake. Similarly, multiple high-dose administrations of METH (10 mg/kg/dose; four doses at 2-h intervals) decreased DAT function. The decreases in DAT activity after either single or multiple METH administrations were reversed 24 h after treatment. 3H5HT transport into striatal synaptosomes was also affected by METH treatment. Taken together, these data suggest that METH decreases DAT activity, perhaps through a reactive oxygen species-mediated mechanism. These findings may have important implications regarding the role of oxidative events in the physiological regulation of monoaminergic systems.