354
Pifl et al.
substrate, e.g., neurotransmitter or MPPϩ (Fischer and Cho,
1979), the weak or lacking releasing activity of 12 and 13
would suggest that they are poor transporter substrates.
This could be simply due to their more bulky structure or
more specifically related to the observation that optimal
translocation has steric requirements for the amine function-
ality (Meiergerd and Schenk, 1994), which might be lost in
the molecules with two methylenedioxyphenyl groups.
In conclusion, we have found that byproducts of illegal
ecstasy synthesis can interact with the primary sites of ac-
tion of MDMA, the monoamine transporters, and were active
with similar potency as MDMA. The mode of interaction,
predominantly transport inhibition compared with induction
of release, argues against a neurotoxic potential of the sub-
stances investigated.
effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”) are attenu-
ated by the serotonin uptake inhibitor citalopram. Neuropsychopharmacology
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Address correspondence to: Dr. Christian Pifl, Center for Brain Research,
Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 4, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. E-mail: