MPTP (1-methyl 4-phenyl 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) is a chemical that is related to the opioid analgesic drugs. MPTP itself does not have any opioid effect, but it may be produced accidentally during illicit manufacture of MPPP, a synthetic opioid with effects similar to those of heroin and morphine. CAS registry numbers are unique numerical identifiers for chemical compounds, polymers, biological sequences and alloys. ... The EINECS number (for European Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances) is a registry number given to each chemical substance commercially available in the European Union between 1 January 1971 and 18 September 1981. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... General Name, symbol, number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Standard atomic weight 12. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, is the legal foundation of the United States governments fight against the abuse of drugs and other substances. ... Pethidine (INN) or meperidine (USAN) (also referred to as: isonipecaine; lidol; operidine; pethanol; piridosal; Algil®; Alodan®; Centralgin®; Demerol®; Dispadol®; Dolantin®; Dolestine®; Dolosal®; Dolsin®; Mefedina®) is a fast-acting opioid analgesic drug. ... Mitochondrial permeability transition, or MPT, is an increase in the permeability of the mitochondrial membranes to molecules of less than 1500 Daltons in molecular weight. ... A chemical substance is any material substance used in or obtained by a process in chemistry: A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more chemical elements that are chemically combined in fixed proportions. ... An opioid is a chemical substance that has a morphine-like action in the body. ... An analgesic (colloquially known as a painkiller) is any member of the diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain (achieve analgesia). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... MPPP (1-methyl 4-phenyl 4-propionoxypiperidine) is an opioid analgesic drug. ... An opioid is a chemical substance that has a morphine-like action in the body. ... Heroin (INN: diacetylmorphine, BAN: diamorphine) is an opioid synthesized directly from the extracts of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. ... Morphine (INN) (IPA: ) is a highly potent opiate analgesic drug and is the principal active agent in opium and the prototypical opiate. ...

MPTP causes Parkinsonian side-effects, hence some users of MPPP develop these symptoms. This happens when MPTP is metabolized into MPP+ (by MAO-B), which kills neurons in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra. MPP+ interferes with complex I of the electron transport chain, a component of mitochondrial metabolism, which leads to cell death and causes the buildup of free radicals, toxic molecules that contribute further to cell destruction. Parkinsons disease (also known as Parkinson disease or PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferers motor skills and speech. ... In medicine, an adverse effect is a harmful and undesired effect resulting from a medication or other intervention such as chemotherapy or surgery. ... MAO-B is an abbreviation for monoamine oxidase B. There are 2 varieties of monoamine oxidase, which are MAO-A and MAO-B. MAO-A mainly breaks down the neurochemicals serotonin and norepinephrine, whereas MAO-B mainly breaks down the neurochemicals dopamine and phenylethylamine. ... Neurons (also called nerve cells) are the primary cells of the nervous system. ... The substantia nigra, (Latin for black substance, Soemering) or locus niger is a heterogeneous portion of the midbrain, separating the pes (foot) from the tegmentum (covering), and a major element of the basal ganglia system. ... NADH dehydrogenase NADH dehydrogenase (EC 1. ... The Electron Transport Chain. ...

MPTP has quite selective abilities to cause neuronal death in dopaminergic cells, apparently through a high-affinity uptake process in nerve terminals normally used to reuptake dopamine after it has been released into the synaptic cleft. Such effects lead to gross depletion of dopaminergic neurons which has severe implications on cortical control of complex movements.The direction of complex movement is based from the substantia nigra to the putamen and caudate nucleus which then relay signals to the rest of the brain. This pathway is controlled via dopamine-using neurons, which MPTP selectively destroys, resulting over time in parkinsonism.

The neurotoxicity of MPTP was discovered in 1976 after Barry Kidston, a 23-year-old chemistry graduate student in Maryland, synthesized MPPP incorrectly and injected the result. It was contaminated with MPTP, and within three days he began exhibiting symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The National Institute of Mental Health found traces of MPTP in his lab and eventually discovered its effects by testing the chemical on rats. Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,407 sq mi (32,133 km²)  - Width 90 miles (145 km)  - Length 249 miles (400 km)  - % water 21  - Latitude 37° 53′ N to 39° 43′ N  - Longitude 75° 03′ W to 79° 29... The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States federal governments principal biomedical and behavioral research agency. ...

In 1982, seven people in Santa Clara County, California were diagnosed with Parkinson's after using MPPP contaminated with MPTP. J. William Langston, then a neurologist at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and faculty member at Stanford Medical School, tracked down MPTP as the cause, researched its effects on primates, and was eventually able to successfully treat motor symptoms of three of the seven patients with neural grafts of fetal stem cells from aborted human fetuses in collaboration with neuroscientists from Lund University Hospital in Sweden. This experience was documented in a book he authored, The Case of the Frozen Addicts (ISBN 0-679-42465-2), about his quest for a cure, which was later featured in two NOVA productions by PBS. Santa Clara County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. ... Dr. J. William Langston is the founder, CEO, and Scientific Director of the Parkinsons Institute. ... Stanford University School of Medicine is affiliated with Stanford University and is located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California, adjacent to Palo Alto and Menlo Park. ... Mouse embryonic stem cells with fluorescent marker. ... Lund University main building, built in 1882 by Helgo Zettervall. ... Nova is a popular science television series from the USA produced by WGBH and can be seen on PBS and in more than 100 countries. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ...

Contribution of MPTP to research into Parkinson's disease

Langston et al.(1984) found that, injections of MPTP in squirrel monkeys resulted in parkinsonism, symptoms of which were subsequently reduced by Levo-dopa, a precursor for the neurotransmitter dopamine, currently the drug-of-choice in treatment of Parkinson's. The symptoms and brain structures of MPTP-induced Parkinson's are fairly indistinguishable to the point that MPTP may be used to simulate the disease in order that science may study Parkinson's physiology and possible treatments within the laboratory.

Based on this, it has been postulated that Parkinson's disease may be caused by minute amounts of MPP+ like compounds from ingestion or exogenously through repeated exposure and that these substances are too minute to be detected significantly by epidemiological studies.[1] Nevertheless, knowledge of MPTP and its use in reliably recreating Parkinson's disease in experimental models has inspired scientists to investigate the possibilities of surgically replacing neuron loss through fetal tissue implants, subthalamic electrical stimulation and stem cell research^{[citation needed]}, all of which have demonstrated initial, provisional successes. ^{[citation needed]}

See also

• MPPP

MPPP (1-methyl 4-phenyl 4-propionoxypiperidine) is an opioid analgesic drug. ...

External links

• MPTP in California, 1982
• History of The Parkinson's Institute dates back to 1982