The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Research Grants 1988-1989

Neurotoxicity of Dopamine and Serotonin Selective Drugs

Errol B. DeSouza, PhD and Matthew M.S. Lo, PhD
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Addiction Research Center, Baltimore, Maryland

DeSouza and Lo will investigate the mechanism by which amphetamines and related drugs interact with dopamine and serotonin in nerve tissue. They are working on an in vitro model for screening potential neurotoxins. They will use electroporation, a technique by which temporary passages are created in the cell membrane, to enhance drug delivery to nerve cells.