9 research outputs found

    Analytical challenges in sports drug testing

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    Analytical chemistry represents a central aspect of doping controls. Routine sports drug testing approaches are primarily designed to address the question whether a prohibited substance is present in a doping control sample and whether prohibited methods (for example, blood transfusion or sample manipulation) have been conducted by an athlete. As some athletes have availed themselves of the substantial breadth of research and development in the pharmaceutical arena, proactive and preventive measures are required such as the early implementation of new drug candidates and corresponding metabolites into routine doping control assays, even though these drug candidates are to date not approved for human use. Beyond this, analytical data are also cornerstones of investigations into atypical or adverse analytical findings, where the overall picture provides ample reason for follow-up studies. Such studies have been of most diverse nature, and tailored approaches have been required to probe hypotheses and scenarios reported by the involved parties concerning the plausibility and consistency of statements and (analytical) facts. In order to outline the variety of challenges that doping control laboratories are facing besides providing optimal detection capabilities and analytical comprehensiveness, selected case vignettes involving the follow-up of unconventional adverse analytical findings, urine sample manipulation, drug/food contamination issues, and unexpected biotransformation reactions are thematized

    Plasma drug concentrations and physiological measures in 'dance party' participants

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    The increasing use of (7) 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in the setting of large dance parties (‘raves’) and clubs has been the source of some concern, because of potential acute adverse events, and because animal studies suggest that MDMA has the potential to damage brain serotonin (5-HT) neurons. However, it is not yet known whether MDMA, as used in the setting of dance parties, leads to plasma levels of MDMA that are associated with toxicity to 5-HT neurons in animals. The present study sought to address this question. Plasma MDMA concentrations, vital signs, and a variety of blood and urine measures were obtained prior to, and hours after, individuals attended a dance party. After the dance party, subjects were without clinical complaints, had measurable amounts of residual MDMA in plasma, and nearly half of the subjects also tested positive for methamphetamine, another amphetamine analog that has been shown to have 5-HT neurotoxic potential in animals. Plasma concentrations of MDMA did not correlate with self-reported use of ‘ecstasy’ and, in some subjects, overlapped with those that have been associated with 5-HT neurotoxicity in non-human primates. Additional subjects were likely to have had similar concentrations while at the dance party, when one considers the reported time of drug ingestion and the plasma half-life of MDMA in humans. Hematological and biochemical analyses were generally unremarkable. Moderate increases in blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature were observed in the subjects with the highest MDMA plasma concentrations. These findings are consistent with epidemiological findings that most people who use MDMA at dance parties do not develop serious clinical complications, and suggest that some of these individuals may be at risk for developing MDMA-induced toxicity to brain serotonin neurons.Rodney J Irvine, Michael Keane, Peter Felgate, Una D McCann, Paul D Callaghan and Jason M Whit

    Pharmacokinetic profile of single and repeated oral doses of MDMA in squirrel monkeys: Relationship to lasting effects on brain serotonin neurons

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    A large body of data indicates that (7)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ‘ecstasy’) can damage brain serotonin neurons in animals. However, the relevance of these preclinical data to humans is uncertain, because doses and routes of administration used in animals have generally differed from those used by humans. Here, we examined the pharmacokinetic profile of MDMA in squirrel monkeys after different routes of administration, and explored the relationship between acute plasma MDMA concentrations after repeated oral dosing and subsequent brain serotonin deficits. Oral MDMA administration engendered a plasma profile of MDMA in squirrel monkeys resembling that seen in humans, although the half-life of MDMA in monkeys is shorter (3 vs 6–9 h). MDMA was biotransformed into MDA, and the plasma ratio of MDA to MDMA was 3–5/100, similar to that in humans. MDMA accumulation in squirrel monkeys was nonlinear, and plasma levels were highly correlated with regional brain serotonin deficits observed 2 weeks later. The present results indicate that plasma concentrations of MDMA shown here to produce lasting serotonergic deficits in squirrel monkeys overlap those reported by other laboratories in some recreational ‘ecstasy’ consumers, and are two to three times higher than those found in humans administered a single 100–150 mg dose of MDMA in a controlled setting. Additional studies are needed on the relative sensitivity of brain serotonin neurons to MDMA toxicity in humans and non-human primates, the pharmacokinetic parameter(s) of MDMA most closely linked to the neurotoxic process, and metabolites other than MDA that may play a role.Annis Mechan, Jie Yuan, George Hatzidimitriou, Rodney J Irvine, Una D McCann and George A Ricaurt

    Forensic Science

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