Pediatrics in Review
HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS CME ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Take the CME quiz:
 Vol. 18 No. 9, September 1997
Right arrow Rapid Responses: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by MacKenzie, R. G.
Right arrow Articles by Heischober, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by MacKenzie, R. G.
Right arrow Articles by Heischober, B.
Related Collections
Right arrow Substance Abuse

(Pediatrics in Review. 1997;18:305-309.)
© 1997 American Academy of Pediatrics

Methamphetamine

Richard G. MacKenzie, MD*
Bruce Heischober, MD{dagger}
* Associate Professor, Pediatrics, USC, School of Medicine; Director, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, CA.

{dagger} Director, Public Health Emergency Medicine; Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, Loma Linda, CA.


   IMPORTANT POINTS
 

  1. National surveys of drug use by youth in the United States document increased use of central nervous system (CNS) stimulants that often contribute to trauma, violent behaviors, and homicide. Methamphetamine, a powerful psychostimulant, usually manufactured illicitly, has increased CNS properties over peripheral properties.
  2. Cyclical binge-crash behavior due to catecholamine depletion is common with methamphetamine use, particularly with the intravenous route of administration.
  3. Symptoms of chronic methamphetamine toxicity include skin changes, hallucinations, malnutrition, behavior disturbances, and disturbed sexual behavior.
  4. Treatment approaches need to focus on both acute toxic manifestations of use and lifestyle contributors.


   History and Overview
 
The roots of the current epidemic of methamphetamine abuse date back centuries. Use of ephedrine was documented in China more than 5,000 years ago, and cathinone was used in East Africa in the 14th century. These drugs were obtained from the plants Ephedra majaung and Catha edulis, respectively. Both were recognized for their stimulant, appetite suppressant, and bronchodilation properties.

Amphetamine first was synthesized in 1887, but was not used clinically until the early 1930s. Predictably, abuse occurred almost immediately. Benzedrine® inhalers were available over the counter and contained 250 mg of amphetamine per inhaler. Developed as a topical decongestant, the amphetamine, contained in a cotton plug, often was ingested directly or the drug was extracted and injected. Worldwide epidemics of amphetamine abuse occurred over the next several decades, resulting in legislation in many countries in the 1950s and 1960s to control production and dispensing.

In the United States in the 1960s, methamphetamine was well recognized for its potential to lead to tolerance and physiologic dependence. High-dose use resulted in a dysphoric, psychosis-like state. It was one of many drugs that defined the "drug culture" of that era, despite its often negative side effects. Some even credit methamphetamine with ending the "summer of love" in 1969; public . . . [Full Text of this Article]






HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS CME ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pediatrics Pediatrics in Review
Copyright © 1997 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.