Inhibition of monoamine oxidase B in the brains of smokers

THE massive health problem associated with cigarette smoking is exacerbated by the addictive properties of tobacco smoke and the limited success of current approaches to cessation of smoking 1 . Yet little is known about the neuropharmacological actions of cigarette smoke that contribute to smoking...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1996-02, Vol.379 (6567), p.733-736
Main Authors: Fowler, J. S, Volkow, N. D, Wang, G.-J, Pappas, N, Logan, J, MacGregor, R, Alexoff, D, Shea, C, Schlyer, D, Wolf, A. P, Warner, D, Zezulkova, I, Cilento, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictions
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
Brain
Brain - drug effects
Brain - enzymology
Cigarettes
Dopamine - metabolism
Enzymes
Female
Glucose - metabolism
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen production
letter
Male
Medical sciences
Mental disorders
Middle Aged
Monoamine Oxidase - metabolism
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors - pharmacology
multidisciplinary
Nicotine
Nicotine - pharmacology
Parkinson's disease
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Selegiline - pharmacology
Smoking
Smoking - metabolism
Tobacco, tobacco smoking
Tomography, Emission-Computed
Toxicology
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Summary:THE massive health problem associated with cigarette smoking is exacerbated by the addictive properties of tobacco smoke and the limited success of current approaches to cessation of smoking 1 . Yet little is known about the neuropharmacological actions of cigarette smoke that contribute to smoking behaviour, or why smoking is so prevalent in psychiatric disorders 2 and is associated with a decreased risk of Parkinson's disease 3 . Here we report that brains of living smokers show a 40% decrease in the level of monoamine oxidase B (MAO B; EC 1.4.3.4) relative to non-smokers or former smokers. MAO B is involved in the breakdown of dopamine, a neurotransmitter implicated in reinforcing and motivating behaviours as well as movement. MAO B inhibition is therefore associated with enhanced activity of dopamine 4 , as well as with decreased production of hydrogen peroxide, a source of reactive oxygen species 5 . We propose that reduction of MAO B activity may synergize with nicotine to produce the diverse behavioural and epidemiological effects of smoking.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/379733a0