Fruit Flies On Methamphetamine Die Largely as a Result of Anorexia

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) — A new study finds that, like humans, fruit flies exposed to methamphetamine drastically reduce their food intake and increase their physical activity. The study, which tracked metabolic and behavioral changes in fruit flies on meth, indicates that starvation is a primary driver of methamphetamine-related death in the insects.

The new findings are described in The Journal of Toxicological Sciences.

The abuse of methamphetamine can have significant harmful side effects in humans. It burdens the body with toxic metabolic byproducts and weakens the heart, muscles and bones. It alters energy metabolism in the brain and kills brain cells.

Previous studies have shown that the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a good model organism for studying the effects of methamphetamine on the body and brain. Researchers have found that meth exposure has similar toxicological effects in fruit flies and in humans and other mammals.

Some studies found that supplementing the fly's diet with added glucose or other metabolic precursors slowed the damaging effects of exposure to methamphetamine, suggesting that meth has a profoundly negative effect on metabolism. Human meth users are known to crave sugary drinks, an indication that their sugar metabolism, too, is altered by methamphetamine use.

Continued: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120801093834.htm