Talk:MPTP

message: Under the heading Synthesis and Uses the following statement was made:
"In one test of the substance, two of six human subjects died."
This sounds as if patients were experimentally treated with MPTP. Is this correct? The citation is to a book I would need to get through inter-library loan. I have a feeling this is referring to the incident in 1980s where a bad batch of synthetic heroin turned up on the streets of Silicon Valley. The junk was tainted with MPTP. Once injected, it damaged the substantia nigra, reducing the drug user to a catatonic state.
:This sounds suspiciously like a paraphrased quote from the NOVA special on MPTP and Parkinson's Disease called "The Case of the Frozen Addict" (originally broadcast on 02/18/86).   The NOVA special talks about chemist Dr. Albert Ziering who was working at Hoffman-La Roche in the 1940's, and related that MPTP was experimented with (by Hoffman-La Roche chemists) as a Parkinson's treatment in the 1950's.   The MPTP was given to rats with no effects, then to six monkeys at high doses yielding tardive dyskinesia like effects then death; finally MPTP was given to six humans, two of which died.   --74.179.120.107 (talk) 22:51, 25 November 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Authenticate Statement

message: The structure given for MPTP is NOT correct. There is a doubble bond in the tetrahydropyrridin ring. This unsatuaration should be omitted. Please redraw the structure.
Ake Bergman
Professor in Environmental Chemistry
Stockholm University (email removed to prevent spam)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.32.86.223 (talk) 06:48, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: If that ring were fully saturated, why would it be named tetrahydro…? The structure given in both Pubchem and ESIS have the unsaturation in their diagram. Pubchem and MeSH search both describe the compound of this name as having the biochemical properties listed in the Wikipedia article here. Do you have some cites to support an alternate structure? DMacks (talk) 07:04, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Structure

message: The neurotoxicity of MPTP was discovered in 1976 after Barry Kidston, a 23-year-old chemistry graduate student in Maryland, synthesized MPPP incorrectly and injected the result. It was contaminated with MPTP, and within three days he began exhibiting symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The National Institute of Mental Health found traces of MPTP in his lab and eventually discovered its effects by testing the chemical on rats."
According to my university lectures, rats are immune to the neurotoxic effects of MPTP. This means its is unlikely these effects were confirmed by testing on rats as stated in the article.
:Barry Kidston's attempt at making MPPP resulted in MPTP via sloppy chemistry.   MPTP had actually been discovered as far back as 1947 (first published account) by Albert Ziering.   MPPP, true enough, does have effects on rats, however the paralyzing like effects wear off quickly, that is these effects do not last in rats.  MPTP does NOT affect rats.   MPTP does affect monkeys and humans, and is "reversible" with levadopa.   --74.179.120.107 (talk) 23:00, 25 November 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Rats 

message: Didn't Langston have six patients, not seven as stated? They were Connie, George, Juanita, David, Bill and Toby. If there is a seventh patient who was it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 134.153.182.147 (talk • contribs) 18:08, 26 February 2007  (UTC)
This article reads a bit Langston-centric. Richard8081 20:39, 12 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Langston's patients 

message: Editing the statement about stem cells. These "stem cells" were actually fetal tissue grafts, not embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells taken from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst. These cells were partially differentiated multipotent cells taken from fetuses. The stem cells in question are technically what is colloquially referred to as "adult" stem cells.Jkhamlin (talk) 05:06, 3 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Stem Cells

message: Reference 6 describes only the corresponding 2-arylpiperidines, not the 4-arylpiperidines (and thus not MPTP).
Reference 7 probably should refer to volume 65 of that series. In volume 64 (also from 1994) there is a discussion of mercury intoxication on page 369. Have no access to the original volume 65 to check it, though.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.246.2.48 (talk) 10:46, 10 October 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  References 

message: The introduction contains this statement:
"While MPTP itself has no psychoactive effects, the compound may be accidentally produced during the manufacture of MPPP, a synthetic opioid drug with effects similar to those of morphine and pethidine (meperidine).'"
And the next section, Toxicity, starts with this passage:
"Injection of MPTP causes rapid onset of Parkinsonism, hence users of MPPP contaminated with MPTP will develop these symptoms. MPTP itself is not toxic, and as a lipophilic compound can cross the blood–brain barrier."
In regard to a substance, the word psychoactive means causing mental effects.  it doesn't matter how this happens in the body, such as whether the substance has turned into another substance first, and that one more directly has the mental effects.  The original substance is still psychoactive.
Same principle is true for the word toxic.
So it an extremely dangerous mistake to claim "MPTP is not toxic".  
To a biochemist, to be sure, just how MPTP is toxic is important to know, and of course the information that MPTP first becomes MPP+, and then this chemical does the direct damage, should be included somewhere in the article.
But it is a very, very bad idea to claim that "MPTP itself is not toxic", because 99.99% of all people will misinterpret that to mean that it is safe to put in the human body.  And it certainly is not safe to put in the human body.Daqu (talk) 16:18, 2 November 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dangerously unclear statements 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to  on MPTP. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080227162019/http://www.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk/ieh/pdf/w21.pdf to http://www.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk/ieh/pdf/w21.pdf
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20071016034842/http://www.ninds.nih.gov:80/funding/research/parkinsonsweb/greenamyre_summary.htm to http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/research/parkinsonsweb/greenamyre_summary.htm
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.
Cheers.—cyberbot IITalk to my owner:Online 23:32, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Is this compound also called MTPT? Because it seems to be called that in multiple articles. 204.11.186.190 (talk) 17:48, 4 November 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Alternate name? 

message: The metabolite MPP+ is a neurotoxin with no therapeutic value. It is not a drug. Therefore, MPTP is not a prodrug. Grassynoel (talk) 01:51, 10 March 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Prodrug"