Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2005-4-25
pubmed:abstractText
Ubiquitin (Ub) is involved in neurodegeneration and various stress responses in the brain. The present study investigated the Ub-immunoreactive structures in the midbrain of methamphetamine (MA) abusers as a marker of drug-induced neurodegeneration. Medico-legal autopsy cases were examined: fatal MA intoxication (n=14), other fatalities of MA abusers (n=23) including those due to injuries, asphyxiation, drowning, fire and natural diseases, and control groups (n=260). In the motor nervous systems, MA abusers showed a mild increase in the diffuse-type nuclear Ub-positivity in the pigmented neurons of the substantia nigra, depending on the blood MA level and irrespectively of the immediate causes of death. The intranuclear inclusion-type Ub-positivity of the nigral neurons and the granular 'dot-like' Ub-immunoreactivity area in the crus cerebri (cortico-spinal tracts) were usually low in MA abusers, and any increases were related to the immediate causes of death and the age of subjects. Acute MA fatality showed a higher neuronal Ub-positivity in the midbrain periaqueductal gray matter (PGM), which is involved in processing pain, fear and anxiety, and regulation of respiration and circulation. These findings suggest dysfunction of the nigral dopaminergic neurons and PGM neurons in the midbrain in MA abuse, which may account for the clinical symptoms.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
1344-6223
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
7
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
144-50
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2005
pubmed:articleTitle
Ubiquitin-immunoreactive structures in the midbrain of methamphetamine abusers.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, 545-8585 Osaka, Japan. legalmed@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't