NEUROTOXICITY OF AMPHETAMINES AND RELATED STIMULANTS

本年度R13会议拨款申请是为一个名为“安非他明和相关兴奋剂的神经毒性”的会议寻求部分支持。会议将于1999年4月16日至17日在华盛顿特区举行的实验生物学99会议（EB99）之前举行。本次会议的赞助和部分支持也正在通过ASPET寻求，ASPET是EB99会议的六个参与协会之一。本次会议将包括由该领域的主要研究人员进行的16次综合报告，与会者将来自神经化学家、神经药理学家、毒理学家、分子生物学家、细胞生物学家和对药物滥用感兴趣的临床医生。会议的目标有四个方面：1)汇集该领域的主要研究人员，介绍他们在安非他明神经毒素方面的最新发现；2)激发演讲者和与会者在细胞和分子水平上就滥用这些药物的毒性作用机制进行综合讨论；3)以编辑书籍的形式出版一篇最先进的论文，以最大限度地传播会议上提出的科学材料；4)满足公众对与滥用神经毒性安非他明（如甲基苯丙胺和摇头丸）有关的问题进行更多科学研究的需要。要涵盖的主题包括安非他明神经毒性和药理学的全面概述，药物对发育中的大脑的影响，神经递质系统和线粒体能量状态作为安非他明毒性的决定因素，活性氧，一氧化氮，醌类和醌蛋白在神经元损伤中的作用，以及人类滥用安非他明的长期后果。海报会议、圆桌讨论以及出版书籍和期刊摘要文章将最大限度地向整个领域传播药物滥用这一重要方面的最新发展。

This single year application for an R13 Conference Grant is seeking partial support for a conference entitled "The Neurotoxicity of Amphetamines and Related Stimulants". The meeting will be held from 16-17 April, 1999, just prior to and in conjunction with the Experimental Biology 99 meeting (EB99) in Washington, DC. Sponsorship and partial support for this conference is also being sought through ASPET, one of six participating societies in the EB99 meeting. This conference will include 16 comprehensive presentations by leading investigators in the field, and the participants will be drawn from neurochemists, neuropharmacologists, toxicologists, molecular biologists, cell biologists, and clinicians with interest in drug abuse. The goals of the conference are four- fold 1) to bring together the leading investigators in the field for a presentation of their latest findings on the amphetamine neurotoxins, 2) to stimulate integrative discussions among speakers and attendees regarding the toxic mechanisms of action of these drugs of abuse at the cellular and molecular level; 3) to publish a state-of-the-art treatise in the form of an edited book to maximize dissemination of the scientific material presented at the conference; and 4) to serve the public need for increased scientific research into the problems associated with abuse of neurotoxic amphetamines such as methamphetamine and MDMA (Ecstacy). The topics to be covered include a comprehensive overview of amphetamine neurotoxicity and pharmacology, drug effects on the developing brain, neurotransmitter systems and mitochondrial energy status as determinants of amphetamine toxicity, the roles of reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, quinones, and quinoproteins in neuronal damage, and long-term consequences of amphetamine abuse in humans. Poster sessions, round-table discussions, and publication of a book and journal summary article will maximize dissemination of the latest developments in this important aspect of drug abuse to the field at large.