MR spectroscopy in opiate maintenance therapy: association of glutamate with the number of previous withdrawals in the anterior cingulate cortex.
Summary of "MR spectroscopy in opiate maintenance therapy: association of glutamate with the number of previous withdrawals in the anterior cingulate cortex."
Pre-clinical research indicates that opioids reduce extracellular glutamate in acute opioid treatment, whereas during withdrawal, glutamatergic neurotransmission is increased and withdrawal symptoms can be blocked by glutamate receptor antagonists. The glutamate hypothesis of addiction suggests that withdrawal-associated hyperglutamatergic states destabilize the glutamatergic system chronically and contribute to relapse. magnetic resonance spectroscopy at three tesla optimized for glutamate assessment (TE 80 ms) was performed in the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) and frontal white matter (fWM) of 17 opiate-dependent patients during opiate maintenance therapy and 20 healthy controls. Controlling for age and gray matter content, glutamate in the ACC was positively associated with the number of previous withdrawals. For glutamate + glutamine (Glx), a significant group-age interaction was found. Whereas Glx declines with age in healthy controls, Glx increases with age in opiate-dependent patients. The number of previous withdrawals did not correlate with age. In fWM spectra, increased Cho concentrations were observed in opiate-dependent patients. Both new findings, the positive correlation of glutamate and previous withdrawals and increasing Glx with age in contrast to an age-dependent Glx decrease in controls indicate a destabilization of the glutamate system in opiate-dependent patients and support the glutamate hypothesis of addiction. Increased Cho concentrations in fWM corroborate findings of WM abnormalities in opioid-dependent subjects.
Affiliation
Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, GermanyDepartment Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Germany.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Addiction biology
ISSN: 1369-1600
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21309952
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1369-1600.2010.00290.x
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Opiate Substitution Treatment
Medical treatment for opioid dependence using a substitute opiate such as METHADONE or BUPRENORPHINE.
Glutamate Formimidoyltransferase
A PYRIDOXAL PHOSPHATE-containing enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of a formyl group from L-GLUTAMATE to N-formimidoyl-L-glutamate and TETRAHYDROFOLATE. This enzyme may also catalyze formyl transfer from 5-formyltetrahydrofolate to L-GLUTAMATE. This enzyme was formerly categorized as EC 2.1.2.6.
Glutamate-ammonia Ligase
An enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of ATP, L-glutamate, and NH3 to ADP, orthophosphate, and L-glutamine. It also acts more slowly on 4-methylene-L-glutamate. (From Enzyme Nomenclature, 1992) EC 6.3.1.2.
Receptors, Ionotropic Glutamate
A class of ligand-gated ion channel receptors that have specificity for GLUTAMATE. They are distinct from METABOTROPIC GLUTAMATE RECEPTORS which act through a G-protein-coupled mechanism.
Receptors, Glutamate
Cell-surface proteins that bind glutamate and trigger changes which influence the behavior of cells. Glutamate receptors include ionotropic receptors (AMPA, kainate, and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors), which directly control ion channels, and metabotropic receptors which act through second messenger systems. Glutamate receptors are the most common mediators of fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the central nervous system. They have also been implicated in the mechanisms of memory and of many diseases.
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