Methamphetamine increases basal ganglia iron to levels observed in aging

Increases in basal ganglia iron are well documented for neurodegenerative diseases but have not been associated with methamphetamine (METH). In this study, vervet monkeys that received two doses of METH (2 mg/kg, intramuscularly, 6 h apart) showed at 1 month, iron increases in substantia nigra pars reticulata and globus pallidus, with concurrent increases of ferritin-immunoreactivity and decreases of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactivity in substantia nigra. At 1.5 years, substantia nigra tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactivity had recovered while iron and ferritin-immunoreactivity increases persisted. Globus pallidus and substantia nigra iron levels of the adult METH-exposed animals (age 5-9 years) were now comparable with those of drug-naive, aged animals (19-22 years), suggesting an aging-related condition that might render those regions more vulnerable to oxidative stress.