Ecstasy counteracts catalepsy in rats, an anti-parkinsonian effect?

Parkinson's disease is due to a dopamine deficiency caused by the degeneration of midbrain dopamine neurons. Current therapies are aimed to substitute dopamine or to directly stimulate postsynaptic dopamine receptors. However, not all patients profit from current therapies to the same extent, even serious side effects such as dyskinesias are complicating the therapy. Therefore, there is still a need for better anti-parkinsonian drugs. Here we show that some compounds from the 'Ecstasy'-derivatives exert potent anti-parkinsonian activity. 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 'Ecstasy' dose-dependently and very potently reversed haloperidol-induced parkinsonism in the rat. From the supraadditive effect of the enantiomers it may be concluded that both enantiomers contribute to the antiparkinsonian effects at two different target sites. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.