Drug Metabolism and Personalized Therapy
January 26, 2017
Bardia Jamali, Behjat Sheikholeslami, Yalda Hosseinzadeh Ardakani et al.
6 citations
MDMA (Ecstasy) alters how the body processes tramadol, a painkiller prone to abuse. In male rats, MDMA slowed tramadol absorption when given orally and increased tramadol concentrations when given intravenously. MDMA also inhibited the CYP3A4 enzyme, a key metabolizer of many drugs, suggesting broader drug interactions. For people who use both substances, intravenous tramadol may pose greater toxicity risks, while oral tramadol may require higher doses to achieve the same effect.
Daru
June 28, 2017
Sanaz Jamshidfar, Yalda H. Ardakani, Hoda Lavasani et al.
5 citations
MDMA (ecstasy) inhibits two key liver enzymes, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4, that metabolize the antidepressant mirtazapine (MRZ). In an isolated perfused rat liver model, animals given MDMA before MRZ showed 80% higher parent drug concentrations and 50% lower concentrations of both major metabolites (8-hydroxymirtazapine and N-desmethylmirtazapine) compared to controls. The area under the curve for the parent drug increased by 50%, while those for the metabolites decreased by 70% and 60%, respectively. Hepatic clearance dropped by 20% and intrinsic clearance by 60%. These findings indicate that ecstasy consumption can substantially alter MRZ metabolism, potentially affecting its efficacy and safety.
Drug Metabolism and Personalized Therapy
June 16, 2026
Faezeh Ahmadi, Hoda Lavasani, Mohammadhosein Keshvadi et al.
A single dose of MDMA (ecstasy) inhibits the liver enzyme CYP2D6, but the duration of inhibition depends on the concentration of the probe drug used to measure enzyme activity. Using a therapeutic concentration of dextromethorphan (2 µM), enzyme activity was significantly reduced only at 1 hour after MDMA, with recovery by 1 week. Using a saturated concentration (300 µM), activity was reduced at 1 hour, 1 week, and 1 month. The results suggest that the apparent recovery time of CYP2D6 after MDMA exposure varies with probe concentration, likely due to differences in metabolic pathways at different substrate levels.