New Study Finds Estrogen Responsible for Changes in Meth Addiction Between Men and Women

A recent study by Science Daily has found that Estrogen, the female hormone, is responsible for changes in the impact that methamphetamine addiction has on rats. This could provide one explanation as to why men and women react differently to meth, offering researchers possible insights into sex-specific meth addiction treatment strategies for stimulant addiction.

Men vs. Women and Meth Addiction

Male rats are usually the focus of addiction studies, but recently scientists are finding that female rats should also be considered as the impact of addiction to meth or other drugs is likely different for different sexes. Researcher Carmela Reichel mentions that we have very limited information at our disposal when it comes to how sex hormones such as testosterone or estrogen impact addiction to drugs or alcohol.

Studies have found that the female rat responds different to drugs than the male rat, signifying a possible impact of estrogen on addiction. According to the CDC, meth kills nearly 100K people annually, so finding a cure or better treatment for the disease of addiction is vital. Finding ways to effectively treat men and women, using their own biological backgrounds as the basis for treatment strategy, may be the key to effective recovery.

Reactions of Rats

Stimulants release excessive amounts of dopamine into the brain. Methamphetamine increases activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain causing rapid sense of pleasure for a short period of time. The release of dopamine is responsible for motivation, movement, memory and learning. Unfortunately, a lack of the stimulant can cause the brain to stop producing dopamine after addiction has set in and this causes a lack of motivation or feel good sense for the user.

Rats are given the ability to self-administer methamphetamine in the test environment. Female rats were seen consistently taking more and more methamphetamine. During the first six hours of the addiction, female rats were seen repeatedly taking more of the drug. Researchers believe this explains why addiction to methamphetamine is so powerful for females—as they seem to have a consistent early urge to take more drugs more frequently.

Examining Rat Brains

Addicted rats and non-addicted rats were examined. Researchers were checking the prefrontal cortex of the male and female rat brains to determine the level of change that occurred as a result of methamphetamine abuse. Female rats showed lower resting activity than males before drug use. Post meth use, females had a stronger response in the brain’s synaptic activity followed by a faster fall once the drug wore off.

This suggests that hormones such as estrogen can play a role in the ability for a rat (or human) to become addicted to drugs such as crystal meth. Using this as a guideline, researchers suggest that treatment approaches that are directly related to women be developed to better treat those suffering from addiction to this and to other drugs.

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