Differential alterations in peripheral tryptophan pathways in methamphetamine versus MDMA users are linked to their contrasting psychiatric symptoms
Francesco Bavato, Andrea Steuer, Anna M. Jacobsen, Amelie Zacher, Josua Zimmermann, David M. Cole, Antje Opitz, Markus R. Baumgartner, Ann-Kathrin Stock, Christian Beste, Boris B. Quednow · 2026
Read Differential alterations in peripheral tryptophan pathways in methamphetamine versus MDMA users are linked to their contrasting psychiatric symptoms by Francesco Bavato, Andrea Steuer, Anna M. Jacobsen, Amelie Zacher, Josua Zimmermann, David M. Cole, Antje Opitz, Markus R. Baumgartner, Ann-Kathrin Stock, Christian Beste, Boris B. Quednow (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13365191.txt.
Description
Francesco Bavato and ten co-authors compare blood chemistry in users of two stimulant drugs, in a 2026 study. Methamphetamine and MDMA look chemically similar, yet they differ in addiction risk and mental effects. Tryptophan pathways, which feed into serotonin and other signals, sit at the brain-body border and may shift under these drugs. Lab animal work suggests lasting changes, but human data were thin. The team measured tryptophan-related compounds in the blood of chronic users of each drug.
The two user groups showed different alteration patterns, and those patterns tracked with their contrasting psychiatric symptoms. Such peripheral signatures could become biomarkers that separate the drugs' long-term harms, and they hint at body-side mechanisms behind symptoms usually blamed on the brain alone.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Francesco Bavato, Andrea Steuer, Anna M. Jacobsen, Amelie Zacher, Josua Zimmermann, David M. Cole, Antje Opitz, Markus R. Baumgartner, Ann-Kathrin Stock, Christian Beste, Boris B. Quednow |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 50 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |