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Addiction Therapy 2016
October 03-05, 2016
Volume 7, Issue 5(Suppl) J Addict Res Ther
ISSN:2155-6105 JART, an open access journal
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October 03-05, 2016 Atlanta, USA
5th International Conference and Exhibition on
Addiction Research & Therapy
Alaaeldin A Elkoussi, J Addict Res Ther 2016, 7:5(Suppl)
Solvent inhalants remarkably alter brain neurotransmitter
Alaaeldin A Elkoussi
University of Assiut, Egypt
Solvent inhalant abuse is widely spread allover the world; especially among adolescents. Solvent inhalants were found to be
highly toxic and extremely deleterious to the addicts' health and societies. Numerous studies were undertaken to investigate
the neurophysiologic and biochemical mechanisms through which these substances produce their toxicity. This study was
devoted to investigate the effect of Toluene on brain neurotransmitters after its single and repeated inhalation in rats.
Levels of Glutamate, GABA, dopamine and 5 HT were measured in rat's brain homogenate after single and repeated daily
inhalation of Toluene in 2 concentrations.
Results revealed that Toluene significantly (P<0.01) increase the level of glutamate of in rat's brain in a concentration-
dependent manner. Besides, single and repeated daily inhalation of the two concentrations of Toluene significantly decreased
GABA level in rat's brain. Single inhalation of Toluene also increased 5-HT level in rat brain, but this increase was insignificant
compared to the control group. However, repeated daily inhalation of the two concentrations of Toluene in both concentrations
significantly increased 5-HT level in rat brain. Both single and repeated daily inhalation of the two concentrations of Toluene
also significantly increased dopamine level in rat’s brain.
Therefore, single and daily repeated Toluene inhalation significantly alter levels of brain neurotransmitters. Toluene
increases levels of glutamate; the "excitatory" neurotransmitter; and decreases levels of GABA; the "inhibitory" neurotransmitter.
Toluene single and repeated daily inhalation increases 5-HT and dopamine levels in rat’s brain. These results could explain the
various behavioral changes induced by inhalation of this toxic solvent inhalant.
Biography
Elkoussi is a professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Assiut College of Medicine. He obtained his PhD in 1972 and in 1982 and 1984 was granted postdoctoral
fellowships in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. From 1990 to 1994 he worked as a Senior Research Scientist in the Center for Drug Design and
Delivery and Center for Drug Discovery, University of Florida and also worked as pharmacologist and as a regulatory affairs manager in pharmaceutical research
companies in USA and Egypt. In 2002 Prof. Elkoussi obtained a Hubert Humphrey Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.
He published over 50 manuscripts in international journals and presented several lectures and research work in many international conferences and supervised
several Masters and PhD theses in experimental and clinical pharmacology and toxicology.
Prof. Elkoussi main areas of interest includes: drug abuse, drug design &delivery, drug interactions, biological evaluation of drug activity, pharmacokinetics,
pharmacotherapy, pharmacovigilance as well as phytotherapy.
For the last 2 decades; Prof. Elkoussi has conducted and supervised several research studies and projects on the topic of solvent inhalant abuse; causes, patterns
and significance in different countries.