MPTP
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| Missing image MPTP.png MPTP | |
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| IUPAC name:
1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine | |
| CAS number | 28289-54-5 |
| EINECS number | 248-939-7 |
| Chemical formula | C12H15N |
| Molecular weight | 173.2542 amu |
| Legal status | Schedule II as Meperidine analog (USA) |
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.
MPTP causes Parkinsonian side-effects, hence some users of MPPP develop these symptoms. This happens when MPTP is metabolized into MPP+, which kills neurons in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra.
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.
In 1982, seven people in Santa Clara County, California were diagnosed with Parkinson's after using MPPP contaminated with MPTP. J. William Langston, a neurologist, tracked down MPTP as the cause, researched its effects on primates, and was eventually able to successfully treat three of the seven. He wrote a book, The Case of the Frozen Addicts, about his quest for a cure.
External links
- MPTP in Maryland, 1976 (http://www.nyu.edu/classes/azmitia/lectures/lecture08/)
- MPTP in California, 1982 (http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1101850408-141542,00.html)
- The Case of the Frozen Addicts (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679424652/qid=1108626225/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1909672-2976635)