Effects of pretreatment with N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2- bromobenzylamine (DSP-4) on methamphetamine pharmacokinetics and striatal dopamine losses

We recently demonstrated that pretreatment with N-(2-chloroethyl)-N- ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP-4) exacerbates experimental parkinsonism induced by methamphetamine. The mechanism responsible for this effect remains to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated whether the exacerbation of chronic dopamine loss in DSP-4-pretreated animals is due to an impairment in the recovery of dopamine levels once the neurotoxic insult is generated or to an increased efficacy of the effects induced by methamphetamine. We administered different doses of methamphetamine either to DSP-4-pretreated or to intact Swiss-Webster mice and evaluated the methamphetamine-induced striatal dopamine loss at early and prolonged intervals. As a further step, we evaluated the striatal pharmacokinetics of methamphetamine, together with its early biochemical effects. We found that previous damage to norepinephrine terminals produced by DSP-4 did not modify the recovery of striatal dopamine levels occurring during several weeks after methamphetamine. By contrast, pretreatment with DSP-4 exacerbated early biochemical effects of methamphetamine, which were already detectable 1 h after methamphetamine administration. In addition, in norepinephrine-depleted animals, the clearance of striatal methamphetamine is prolonged, although the striatal concentration peak observed at 1 h is unmodified. These findings, together with the lack of a methamphetamine enhancement when DSP-4 was injected 12 h after methamphetamine administration, suggest that in norepinephrine-depleted animals, a more pronounced acute neuronal sensitivity to methamphetamine occurs.