Effects of MDMA on neuroplasticity, amyloid burden and phospho-tau expression in APPswePS1dE9 mice.
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is still one of the most consumed drugs by adolescents. Its abuse is related with cognitive impairment, which seems due to maladaptive plasticity and neural stress. In turn, new hypotheses suggest that Alzheimers disease (AD) may be promoted by neural stressors. To test if there is an increase in vulnerability to AD after chronic MDMA consumption, we investigated the effects of this drug on recognition memory and its neurotoxic and neuroplastic effects in a transgenic mouse model of presymptomatic familiar AD (APPPS1 dE9, Tg). MDMA-treated animals showed recognition memory deficits, regardless of genotype, which were accompanied by changes in plasticity markers. Tg mice showed an impaired expression of The present results support previous evidences that MDMA can contribute to the amyloid cascade.