CHRONIC ASPARTAME IN RATS AFFECTS MEMORY, BRAIN CHOLINERGIC RECEPTORS, AND BRAIN CHEMISTRY

Compiled By Rich Murray, MA
Room For All
1943 Otowi Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA
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Posted: 06 July 2005


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1088
Murray, full plain text & critique: Chronic aspartame in rats affects memory, brain cholinergic receptors, and brain chemistry, Christian B, McConnaughey M et al, 2004 May: 2004.06.05

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1087
Chronic aspartame in rats affects memory, brain cholinergic receptors, and brain chemistry: Christian B, McConnaughey M, et al, 2004 May: points shared with McMartin KE & Tephly TR (1979), Pall ML (2002): Murray 2004.06.01

[Comments by Rich Murray are in square brackets. Without removing any text, I have added much spacing to increase the readability of the typically dense scientific prose.]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/346
WebMD: Barclay: Barth:
Survey shows aspartame hurts memory in students 2000.11.09
http://www.psy.tcu.edu/psy/barth.htm
Timothy M. Barth Department of Psychology t.barth@tcu.edu
Texas Christian University TCU Box 298920 Fort Worth, TX 76129
Chairman, Physiological Psychology 817-921-7410

Poor memory is one of the main early complaints of aspartame reactors, who are often people who use over 6 cans (2 L) diet soda daily for years.

The 12 experimental rats in this economical, focused study drank a comparable level for 4 months, about 13% of a 30-month life span.

Only after 3 months did the 6 aspartame rats show almost a doubling of time to run a single-choice maze.

At 4 months, there was almost another doubling of delay: "...two of the treated rats even went to the wrong side of the T-maze, totally forgetting where the reward was."

There were highly significant, neurologically relevant changes in certain brain receptor densities, and changes in brain chemistry.

With 70 citations, the relevant scientific literature is well summarized. Many other studies, often industry funded, often used single doses or too short durations of exposure, along with lower doses, thus rarely proving memory deficits.

The funding source for this extremely valuable study is not given. It used a team of talented high school students.

The fact that certain brain receptor densitities increased, and that memory deficit increase took 3 months to be significant, may reflect the paradox of hormesis, the complex ability of organisms to make themselves stronger in response to low levels of toxins:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1055
Hormesis: possible benefits of low-level aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde) use: Calabrese: Soffritti: Murray 2004.03.11

The most toxic part of the fragile aspartame molecule is its 11% methanol component.

It is an open secret, admitted in a number of published studies for three decades, that methanol is converted within hours by the liver into formaldehyde and formic acid, both potent, cumulative toxins that affect all cell types.

Few know that the classic "morning after" hangover from dark wines and liquors is due to formaldehyde and formic acid from methanol contamination, not the ethanol itself.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1047
Avoiding Hangover Hell 2003.12.31 Mark Sherman, AP writer: Robert Swift, MD [formaldehyde from methanol in aspartame]: Murray 2004.01.16

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1048
Hangovers from formaldehyde from methanol (aspartame?): Schwarcz: Linsley: Murray 2004.01.18

The actual disposition of these toxins in the tissues of human aspartame reactors has never been determined, or, if determined, never publicly published.

The study should be replicated, using methanol, formaldehyde, and formic acid to verify if the same results obtain.

If blood and tissue samples have been stored, then the fast, cheap, automated, highly sensitive Comet assay, often used to prove DNA damage from formaldehyde, can be used to replicate the results by Yu F. Sakaki (2002) that showed that a single very high oral dose of aspartame in just 4 mice produced almost significant levels of DNA damage in five tissues.

This scientific plum is ripe for the plucking.

An intrepid and much published team in Japan has found DNA damage in 8 tissues from single non-lethal doses of aspartame (near-significant high levels of DNA damage in 5 tissues) and many other additives in groups of just 4 mice:

Mutat Res 2002 Aug 26; 519(1-2): 103-19
The comet assay with 8 mouse organs: results with 39 currently used food additives.
Sasaki YF, Kawaguchi S, Kamaya A, Ohshita M, Kabasawa K, Iwama K, Taniguchi K, Tsuda S.
Laboratory of Genotoxicity, Faculty of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hachinohe National College of Technology, Tamonoki Uwanotai 16-1, Aomori 039-1192, Japan.
yfsasaki-c@hachinohe-ct.ac.jp s.tsuda@iwate-u.ac.jp

We determined the genotoxicity of 39 chemicals currently in use as food additives. They fell into six categories-dyes, color fixatives and preservatives, preservatives, antioxidants, fungicides, and sweeteners.

We tested groups of four male ddY mice once orally with each additive at up to 0.5xLD(50) or the limit dose (2000 mg/kg) and performed the comet assay on the glandular stomach, colon, liver, kidney, urinary bladder, lung, brain, and bone marrow 3 and 24 h after treatment.

Of all the additives, dyes were the most genotoxic. Amaranth, Allura Red, New Coccine, Tartrazine, Erythrosine, Phloxine, and Rose Bengal induced dose-related DNA damage in the glandular stomach, colon, and/or urinary bladder. All seven dyes induced DNA damage in the gastrointestinal organs at a low dose (10 or 100 mg/kg).

Among them, Amaranth, Allura Red, New Coccine, and Tartrazine induced DNA damage in the colon at close to the acceptable daily intakes (ADIs).

Two antioxidants (butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)), three fungicides (biphenyl, sodium o-phenylphenol, and thiabendazole), and four sweeteners (sodium cyclamate, saccharin, sodium saccharin, and sucralose) also induced DNA damage in gastrointestinal organs.

Based on these results, we believe that more extensive assessment of food additives in current use is warranted. PMID: 12160896

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/934
24 recent formaldehyde toxicity [Comet assay] reports: Murray 2002.12.31

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/935
Comet assay finds DNA damage from sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin in mice: Sasaki YF & Tsuda S Aug 2002: Murray 2003.01.01
[ Also borderline evidence, in this pilot study of 39 food additives, using test groups of 4 mice, for DNA damage from for stomach, colon, liver, bladder, and lung 3 hr after oral dose of 2000 mg/kg aspartame-- a very high dose. Methanol is the only component of aspartame that can lead to DNA damage. ]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/961
Genotoxins, Comet assay in mice: Ace-K, stevia fine; aspartame poor; sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin bad: Y.F. Sasaki Aug 2002: Murray 2003.01.27 [A detailed look at the data]

J Toxicol Sci. 2002 Dec; 27 Suppl 1: 1-8.
[Genotoxicity studies of stevia extract and steviol by the comet assay]
[Article in Japanese]
Sekihashi K, Saitoh H, Sasaki Y. yfsasaki-c@hachinohe-ct.ac.jp
Safety Research Institute for Chemical Compounds Co., Ltd., 363-24 Shin-ei, Kiyota-ku, Sapporo 004-0839, Japan.

The genotoxicity of steviol, a metabolite of stevia extract, was evaluated for its genotoxic potential using the comet assay. In an in vitro study, steviol at 62.5, 125, 250, and 500 micrograms/ml did not damage the nuclear DNA of TK6 and WTK1 cells in the presence and absence of S9 mix.

In vivo studies of steviol were conducted by two independent organizations. Mice were sacrificed 3 and 24 hr after one oral administration of steviol at 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg. DNA damage in multiple mouse organs was measured by the comet assay as modified by us. After oral treatment, stomach, colon, liver, kidney and testis DNA were not damaged.

The in vivo genotoxicity of stevia extract was also evaluated for its genotoxic potential using the comet assay. Mice were sacrificed 3 and 24 hr after oral administration of stevia extract at 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg

. Stomach, colon and liver DNA were not damaged. As all studies showed negative responses, stevia extract and steviol are concluded to not have DNA-damaging activity in cultured cells and mouse organs. PMID: 12533916 ]

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p 121

Brandon Christian, Kenneth McConnaughey, Elena Bethea, Scott Brantley, Amy Coffey, Leigha Hammond, Shelly Harrell, Kasee Metcalf, Danielle Muehlenbein, Willie Spruill, Leslie Brinson, Mona McConnaughey*.

Chronic aspartame affects T-maze performance, brain cholinergic receptors and Na+,K+-ATPase in rats. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior. 2004; 78(1): 121-127. Department of Pharmacology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, NC 27811, USA Received 21 August 2003; received in revised form 24 February 2004; accepted 28 February 2004; Available online 16 April 2004.

[ 0091-3057/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.pbb.2004.02.017 [ $30.00 to purchase online. ]
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-252-744-3301; fax: +1-252-744-3203.
mcconnaugheym@mail.ecu.edu (M. McConnaughey).
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/pharmbiochembeh ]

Abstract

This study demonstrated that chronic aspartame consumption in rats can lead to altered T-maze performance and increased muscarinic cholinergic receptor densities in certain brain regions. Control and treated rats were trained in a T-maze to a particular side and then periodically tested to see how well they retained the learned response.

Rats [ 12 ] that had received aspartame (250 mg/kg/day) in the drinking water for 3 or 4 months showed a significant increase in time to reach the reward in the T-maze, suggesting a possible effect on memory due to the artificial sweetener.

Using [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) (1 nM) to label muscarinic cholinergic receptors and atropine (10E-6 M) to determine nonspecific binding in whole-brain preparations, aspartame-treated rats showed a 31% increase in receptor numbers when compared to controls. In aspartame-treated rats, there was a significant increase in muscarinic receptor densities in the frontal cortex, midcortex, posterior cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and cerebellum of 80%, 60%, 61%, 65%, 66% and 60%, respectively. The midbrain was the only area where preparations from aspartame-treated rats showed a significant increase in Na+,K+-ATPase activity.

It can be concluded from these data that long-term consumption of aspartame can affect T-maze performance in rats and alter receptor densities or enzymes in brain. D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Aspartame; Cholinergic receptors; Chronic; T-maze; Memory; ATPase

1. Introduction

Anecdotal reports on the toxic effects of aspartame (NutraSweet) are numerous, and various issues continue to be raised today, more than 20 years after aspartame approval by the FDA.

Concern relating to possible adverse effects has been raised due to the metabolic components, phenylalanine, aspartic acid, diketopiperazine (DKP) and methanol as well as the compound itself (Trocho et al., 1998).

There are many accounts of situations in which aspartame is believed to have caused negative effects on specific human functions. These include brain tumors, memory loss, seizures, headaches, confusion, personality disorders, visual difficulty and dizziness (Tollefson and Barnard, 1992).

There is very little scientific evidence in the literature to prove an aspartame connection in these instances.

Shortly after aspartame was marketed, the FDA began to receive an increased number of reports concerning adverse reactions related to aspartame (Garriga and Metcalfe, 1988).

However, conclusive evidence was not found (Aspartame, 1985; Butchko and Stargel, 2001; Butchko et al., 2002; Stegink, 1987; Stegink et al., 1981; Yost, 1989).

Numerous short-term studies have been conducted and none of these have suggested any relationship between aspartame consumption and memory loss (Moser, 1994).

Very few long-term studies have been done.

Most short-term studies consisted of either giving one large dose of aspartame or treating for a short time (a few days or weeks) and then assessing aspartame's effects on learning or memory. Whether done in either humans or animals, these studies have shown no adverse effects of aspartame on memory (Lapierre et al., 1990; Mullenix et al., 1991; Saravis et al., 1990; Shaywitz et al., 1994; Spiers et al., 1998; Stokes et al., 1994; Tilson et al., 1991; Wolraich et al., 1994).

p 122

In a longer study, Holder (1989) showed that 50 days of NutraSweet had no effect on reflex or spatial memory development.

Another study (Leon et al., 1989) showed no persistent changes in vital signs, body weight or standard laboratory tests in subjects receiving aspartame for 24 weeks; however, extensive memory testing was not done.

A few chronic studies have implicated aspartame consumption in learning or memory.

Potts et al. (1980) showed that administration of aspartame as 9% of the diet for 13 weeks altered learning behavior in male rats.

Using a much lower daily dose of aspartame, Dow-Edwards et al. (1989) treated pregnant guinea pigs throughout gestation and demonstrated the aspartame-treated pups showed a disruption of odor-associative learning.

Various neurochemical effects due to aspartame consumption have been reported (Coulombe and Sharma, 1986; Goerss et al., 2000; Pan-Hou et al., 1990).

Neuropeptide Y concentrations have been shown to be lower in arcuate nucleus in rats treated with aspartame for 14 weeks (Beck et al., 2002).

Certain brain amino acid levels have been shown to be increased after aspartame consumption (Dailey et al., 1991; Diomede et al., 1991; Yokogoshi et al., 1984).

Neurochemical changes following high-dose aspartame with dietary carbohydrates have also been reported (Wurtman, 1983).

Taken collectively, these studies suggest that aspartame might affect brain neurotransmitters and receptors, and these effects may become more prominent with long-term consumption.

Numerous studies have implicated muscarinic cholinergic receptors in learning and memory (Bartus et al., 1982; Granon et al., 1995; Kadar et al., 1990; Mezey et al., 1999; Rose et al., 1980; Russell, 1996; Uchida et al., 1991; Van der Zee and Luiten, 1999; Vogt et al., 1991).

In the rabbit, elevated muscarinic binding has been shown in the anterodorsal nucleus early in the learning process, and this increase was maintained throughout subsequent training (Vogt et al., 1991).

The density of muscarinic receptors in the CNS has been correlated with cognitive performance in aging Wistar rats (Kadar et al., 1990).

Two or more muscarinic receptor states have been suggested to be associated with age-related memory deficits in laboratory animals (Lippa et al., 1985).

Muscarinic receptor binding has been shown to be altered in forebrain and midbrain regions of chicks during passive avoidance learning (Longstaff and Rose, 1981).

It has been suggested that nicotinic transmission may be important in delayed response tasks, while the muscarinic system may be involved in general working memory processes (Granon et al., 1995).

These studies lead us to hypothesize that if memory impairment were seen with chronic aspartame consumption in the rat, then we might see an alteration in brain muscarinic cholinergic receptor densities.

Ionic involvement has been suggested to be involved in memory formation and the Na+,K+-ATPase enzyme is crucial for maintaining ionic gradients in neurons and tissues (Conrad and Roy, 1993; Ng et al., 1992).

Na+,K+-ATPase activity has been found to change in young chicks after taste stimulation using a chemical aversant (Hajek et al., 1994).

Bourre et al. (1989) have found that a diet rich in sunflower oil can affect Na+,K+-ATPase activity in rat brain cells and alter learning tasks measured with the shuttle box test.

Because these studies suggest that Na+,K+-ATPase activity could potentially be involved with memory, we also wanted to investigate the possibility that chronic aspartame treatment might affect the levels of this enzyme in the brain.

The specific aim of this study was to determine if longterm aspartame administration (4 months) would lead to memory loss using rats trained in a T-maze and if so, to explore a possible biochemical explanation by measuring muscarinic cholinergic receptor densities and Na+,K+-ATPase activity in nine brain areas.

We chose the aspartame dose of approximately 250 mg/kg/day because this dose is consistent with other values in the literature and could be easily within the limits of human consumption after species factor correction.

Dose comparisons between humans and rats have usually been corrected by a factor of 5 since rats metabolize aspartame faster than humans (Fernstrom, 1989); however, a factor of 60 has also been suggested as a better value to use (Wurtman and Meher, 1987).

The everyday consumption of NutraSweet by people is increasing and it is important to know if this substance has longterm adverse effects under certain conditions. Such studies are necessary to prove or disprove existing fears concerning aspartame.

2. Methods

2.1. T-maze

The T-maze was brown and had a start arm and a left and right arm (80X7X30 cm, Fig. 1). A dark screen covered the top of the entire maze.

At the extremity of each arm, there was an opening to a 1215-cm room. In the middle of the right room, a 1-g piece of chocolate was placed as the reward.

Latency to find the reward was recorded as the seconds from the time the animals entered the maze until they found the chocolate.

[ Replications should use single-blind designs, in which those handling the rats and observing their runs are not aware which are on aspartame. Also, rats are capable of simply following the scent trail that would soon be left by most previous rats going to the right. The strong decline in performance after 3 and 4 months might be due to other brain and sensory deficits than just memory impairment. To prevent this effect, the two sides of the maze could simply be made movable, and switched to serve equally as left and right paths.

Chocolate contains a high level of phenylalanine, a 50% component of aspartame. There conceivably might be subtle interactions for the aspartame rats performance in their response to the phynylalanine in chocolate. This might be studied in a replication, using other food targets. ]

2.2. Animals

Male Sprague-Dawley rats (225 g) were housed two per cage with unlimited access to laboratory chow. [ 12 rats used ]

Control rats received regular tap water and treated rats received aspartame in the drinking water (250 mg/kg/day). [ Tap water can also contain neurotoxins, such as heavy metals and fluoride. ]

Body weight as well as food and water consumption was recorded throughout the 4 months. Drinking solutions of aspartame were prepared to provide the appropriate dose of aspartame in the expected volume consumed.

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The gain in body weight and the amount of water consumed during the 4 months of treatment were not affected by aspartame.

Rats were trained three times/day in the T-maze for 2 weeks. At the end of this time all animals would consistently find the reward (piece of chocolate) at the end of the maze within 12 s.

The animals were then periodically tested in the same T-maze at the same time each day (4:00 p.m.) for the next 4 months and the seconds [ of time ] to reach the reward recorded. [ How many staff handled the rats in these runs? ]

At the end of the 4 months, the animals were anesthetized with pentobarbital (60 mg/kg), sacrificed by decapitation and brains quickly removed and frozen at -70 degrees C until time of assay.

The experimental protocol was approved by the East Carolina University Institutional Review Committee for the Use of Human or Animal Subjects.

2.3. Membrane preparations

For whole-brain preparations, the frozen brains were thawed and homogenized for 15 s with a Brinkmann Polytron PT-10 in 10 ml of ice-cold homogenization buffer (50 mM Tris base, 150 mM sucrose, 5 mM MgCl2, pH 7.4 with HCl).

The homogenate was then centrifuged at 500g, the pellet discarded, and the supernatant centrifuged at 10,000g for 20 min. The pellet was resuspended in cold homogenization buffer to a concentration of 8-10 mg/ml.

For individual brain areas, the brains were thawed and the nine areas dissected. These sections were then homogenized in 3-5 ml of ice-cold buffer (50 mM Tris base, 150 mM sucrose, 5 mM MgCl2, pH 7.4 with HCl) for 10 s with a Brinkmann Polytron PT-10. The homogenate was centrifuged for 15 min at 10,000g. The pellet was resuspended in 1.5-2 ml of ice-cold homogenization buffer and immediately assayed.

Excess membrane preparations were frozen at -70 degrees C and were stable up to 4 months when stored in this manner. Protein was determined by the method of Lowry et al. (1951).

2.4. Radioligand binding assay

Maximal binding capacity (Bmax) was determined by the use of [3H] [ radioactive tritium ] quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB, Perkin-Elmer) to label the receptors.

Briefly, 1 nM [3H]QNB was incubated with 40-50 Ag membrane protein in 200 microl total volume (buffer: 50 mM Tris, 5 mM MgCl2, pH 7.4) for 30 min at 27 degrees C. At the end of the incubation period the tubes were placed on ice for 10 min, rapidly filtered through Whatman GF/C glass fiber filters and washed with 12 ml of ice-cold incubation buffer.

Nonspecific binding was determined in the presence of 10E-6 M atropine. Radioactivity remaining on the filters was quantified using a Beckman scintillation counter.

2.5. Na+,K+-ATPase assay

Na+,K+-ATPase activity was measured at 37 degrees C by monitoring the release of inorganic phosphorus from 3 mM Tris ATP (Blumenthal et al., 1982; McConnaughey et al., 1979).

Total Na+,K+-ATPase activity was unmasked in membrane preparations by pretreating the membranes with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (Besch et al., 1976).

Briefly, freshly thawed preparations (approximately 1 mg/ml) were diluted 1:2 in 30 mM imidazole-HCl buffer (pH 7.1) containing 3.8 mM SDS.

After preincubation for 20 min at room temperature, 20 microl of the diluted suspension was added to previously prepared reaction tubes containing 1 ml incubation medium (50 mM histidine, 3 mM MgCl2, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM KCl, pH 7.4).

Na+,K+-ATPase activity was defined by the activity inhibited by 8 mM ouabain.

Fig. 1. T-maze dimensions are depicted as described in Methods. Reward was always placed on the right side at the end of the maze.

Fig. 2. Aspartame effects on latency to find reward in the T-maze. Seconds were measured from time of T-maze entry to when the reward (chocolate) was found for control and aspartame-treated rats. At 90 days of aspartame treatment and at 120 days of treatment the treated animals took significantly longer to find the reward than the controls. *P<.05 (n=12).

p 124

2.6. Statistics

Data are expressed as the mean +-S.E.M.
All values were compared with a Student's t test.
The level of statistical significance for these experiments was P<.05.

3. Results

The results of this study demonstrated that rats consuming aspartame in the drinking water for 3-4 months took longer to find the reward in a T-maze (Fig. 2).

After 90 days of treatment, rats that had received aspartame showed a significant increase (P<.05) in time to reach the reward, with controls taking 10+-1.4 s and aspartame-treated rats taking 18+-4 s.

After 120 days of treatment, control rats took 14+-2 s to reach the reward and aspartame-treated rats took 34+-5 s (P<.05).

The aspartame-treated animals did not show any differences in the amount of food or water consumed when compared to controls, and at the end of the 4 months both groups had gained a similar amount of weight (data not shown).

Aspartame-treated rats learned at the same rate as control rats initially when maze training took place during the first 2 weeks.

Fig. 3. [3H] [ radioactive tritium ] QNB binding for control and aspartame-treated rats (4 months) was performed as described in Methods.

Brain tissue from aspartame-treated rats had significantly more apparent muscarinic cholinergic receptors when compared to controls. *P<.05 (n=6).

Fig. 4. Aspartame effects on muscarinic receptor binding in various brain regions. [3H] [ radioactive tritium ] QNB binding for control and aspartame-treated rats (4 months) was performed as described in Methods.

Areas included:

Frontal cortex (FC)*
Midcortex (MC)*
Posterior cortex (PC)*
Hypothalamus (HYP)*
Hippocampus (HIP)*
Pons (PON)
Medulla (MED)
Cerebellum (CER)*
Midbrain (MID)

FC, MC, PC, HYP, HIP and CER tissue from aspartame-treated rats had significantly more apparent muscarinic cholinergic receptors when compared to controls. *P<.05 (determinations were on three to five separate pooled preparations each containing two to six brain areas each).

Table 1 Na+,K+-ATPase in control and aspartame-treated rats (micromol Pi/mg protein/h)

Tissue Control Aspartame-Treated
Frontal Cortex 3.86+-0.05 3.98+-0.40
Midcortex 3.74+-0.05 3.88+-0.09
Posterior Cortex 3.41+-0.06 3.47+-0.06
Hypothalamus 4.55+-0.08 4.67+-0.09
Hippocampus 2.99+-0.08 2.83+-0.09
Pons 2.59+-0.02 2.45+-0.07
Medulla 2.53+-0.08 2.41+-0.10
Cerebellum 3.42+-0.16 3.04+-0.19
Midbrain 3.58+-0.05 4.39+-0.04*

Na+,K+-ATPase activities were assessed as described in Methods.

The midbrain area was the only one that showed a difference between control and aspartame-treated animals.

* Significantly different from control ( P<.05). Determinations were on four to five separate pooled preparations each containing two to six brain areas each.

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As shown in Fig. 3, muscarinic cholinergic receptor densities were found to be significantly higher (P<.05) in whole-brain preparations from aspartame-treated rats (161+-16 fmol/mg protein) when compared to controls (122+-8 fmol/mg protein).

When particular brain areas were investigated, it was found that apparent muscarinic receptor numbers were significantly higher (P<.05) in all three areas of the cortex as well as the hypothalamus, hippocampus and cerebellum (Fig. 4).

No significant differences were observed in the pons, medulla or midbrain.

Affinities of the muscarinic receptor for the agonist methacholine were not different between control and treated animals (data not shown).

Na+,K+-ATPase activities were similar in all areas of brain tested (Table 1) with the exception of the midbrain where the activities were significantly increased in the aspartame-treated animals (P<.05).

4. Discussion

This study produced the novel findings that chronic aspartame consumption lengthened the time it took rats to find the reward in a T-maze and increased muscarinic receptor numbers in specific brain areas.

We postulate this first finding to represent impaired long-term memory retention.

This effect was seen only after prolonged aspartame administration [ thus ] supporting short-term studies finding no effects.

The impairment was seen only after 90 days of aspartame consumption and increased with longer exposure to up to the 120-day conclusion of the study.

At this final endpoint, not only did the aspartame-treated rats take longer to find the reward, but two of the treated rats even went to the wrong side of the T-maze, totally forgetting where the reward was.

These results indicate the aspartame-treated animals did not retain the learned behavior as well as the control rats.

Other explanations for these results might include a decrease in smell to locate the reward or a decreased desire for the chocolate reward; however, once the rats did locate the reward, they devoured it immediately.

Other physiological markers including weight gain and water and food consumption appeared stable throughout the study, making it less likely that an impaired sensory or metabolic effect of the chemical could be the cause of the impaired maze performance.

Aspartame did not affect learning early in the course of the experiment when the animals were being trained in the maze. We found the aspartame-treated rats learned at the same rate as the control rats.

This study did not address which stage or stages of memory could possibly be affected by aspartame. The rats seemed more vulnerable to forgetting the learned T-maze task after 4 months, and it is certainly possible that various memory stages including short-term, long-term, semantic, recognition, implicit or memory consolidation could be affected (Brunelli et al., 1997, Murre et al., 2001).

If long-term memory or memory recall involves synthesis of proteins and gene expression, then it is certainly possible that chronic exposure to high amounts of aspartame could affect these processes. Since hormonal as well as neural influences can regulate memory consolidation (McGaugh, 2000), then long-term exposure to aspartame may also play a part in impairing this consolidation.

Three distinct stages of memory were recently described by Walker et al. (2003) involving initial, sleep dependent and recall phases. The recall phase allows a previously stabilized memory to be modified, and it is certainly possible that chronic aspartame could influence this phase.

We hypothesized that if long-term aspartame consumption appeared to affect memory retention in the rats, then brain muscarinic cholinergic receptor densities might also be altered by the chronic aspartame. The second major finding of this study demonstrated that after 4 months of aspartame treatment, muscarinic receptor densities were increased in numerous brain areas.

If we relate these increases to decreased memory retention, then our data are contradictory to the results of others who show a correlation between muscarinic blockers or a decreased number of brain muscarinic receptors and impaired memory (Granon et al., 1995; Okuma et al., 2000; Power et al., 2000; Uchida et al., 1991).

Considerable evidence supports an increase in cholinergic receptor binding being associated with learning and memory (Gill and Gallagher, 1998; Loullis et al., 1983; Vogt et al., 1991); however, other studies have suggested a decrease in muscarinic receptors may be involved with improved memory.

Anagnostaras et al. (2003) showed that M1-deficient mutant mice showed enhanced memory for tasks that involve matching-to-sample problems.

Lerer et al. (1984) showed that diisopropyl fluorophosphate administration caused a decreased number of muscarinic receptors and that this was associated with enhanced performance on memory tasks.

These studies are consistent with the idea that if muscarinic receptors are down-regulated, then certain memory functions may be enhanced.

Our results indicate that an increase in muscarinic receptors may be related to memory-retention problems and that chronic consumption of aspartame may be partially responsible.

Our study investigated total number of muscarinic receptors but did not evaluate specific receptor subtypes. It is possible that aspartame may selectively affect both numbers and affinities of muscarinic receptor subtypes in the different brain regions. Various studies have implicated muscarinic subtypes to be involved in memory formation (Ortega et al., 1996; Patterson et al., 1990). By decreasing M2 receptors with antisense oligonucleotides, Galli et al. (2000) showed that scopolamine-induced memory impairment in the Morris water maze was reversed; thus learning and memory improved. These authors postulated that there might be an increase in acetylcholine to compensate for the decrease in receptors and that this increase could possibly be related to the improved memory.

p. 126

The up-regulation of muscarinic receptors that we observed after 4 months of aspartame consumption could be related to a compensatory decrease in acetylcholine levels or be due to other compensatory mechanisms such as sprouting.

Although Na+,K+-ATPase has not attracted as much attention dealing with memory and learning as muscarinic receptors, this enzyme has been implicated in memory function (Brunelli et al., 1997; Klink and Alonso, 1997; dos Reis et al., 2002; Nakazato et al., 2002).

It is interesting that the only area of brain where we showed Na+,K+-ATPase activity to be altered was the midbrain area. This may be an effect unrelated to memory retention, but may be specific for chronic aspartame consumption.

It is certainly possible that the increases we observed in muscarinic receptor densities are unrelated to the memory deficits observed after 4 months of aspartame consumption.

In addition, aspartame may be producing nonspecific increases in cholinergic receptor densities since these increases are similar in brain areas known to involve memory formation such as the hippocampus, as well as areas not associated with memory formation such as the hypothalamus.

Our data support the idea that the inability to remember where the reward is in the T-maze could be related to an increased density of brain muscarinic receptors; however, it is certainly possible that other receptors, enzymes or transmitters are altered with long-term aspartame treatment and contribute to this decreased maze performance.

Conflicting data exist concerning aspartame's effects on various receptors and transmitters.

Pan-Hou et al. (1990) demonstrated that aspartame caused a significant change in affinity of L-[3H]glutamate binding, whereas

Reilly et al. (1989) found no changes in receptor binding for six amine neurotransmitter receptors after 30 days of aspartame treatment.

Others have reported various neurochemical alterations due to aspartame consumption (Beck et al., 2002; Fernstrom et al., 1986; Goerss et al., 2000; Melchior et al., 1991).

These data taken collectively suggest that the possibility is there for other receptors or transmitters to be altered by chronic aspartame treatment in addition to the increased density of muscarinic receptors that we have shown.

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Our major interests lie in receptor isolation and characterization in a variety of tissues and disease states. It is very possible that many diseases cause or are caused by receptor changes. By characterizing these alterations, we may learn more about the disease at the biochemical level and possibly be able to develop drugs specifically designed to affect the altered receptors.

Publications McConnaughey, M.M., Wong, S.C. and Ingenito, A.J.
Dynorphin receptor changes in hippocampus of the spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Pharmacology, 45: 52-57, 1992.

McConnaughey, M.M. and Iams, S.G.
Sex hormones change adrenoceptors in blood vessels of the spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Clin. Exper. Hypertensive, 15: 153-170, 1993.

McConnaughey, M.M., Zhai, Q.Z. and Ingenito, A.J.
Effects on rat brain K1- and K2-opioid receptors after chronic treatment with non-peptide K-agonists.
J. Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 50(10): 1121-1125, 1998.

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Metabolism. 2004 Feb; 53(2): 247-51.
Differences in beta-adrenergic receptor densities in omental and subcutaneous adipose tissue from obese African American and Caucasian women.
McConnaughey MM, Sheets KA, Davis J, Privette J, Hickner R, Christian B, Barakat H.
Department of Medicine, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.

African American women lose less weight and at a slower rate than Caucasian women under the same weight loss conditions.

This is likely due to decreased mobilization of fat, possibly involving differences in the responsiveness of adipose tissue to adrenergic stimulation. To better understand the causes behind the decreased lipolysis in African American women, this study was initiated to determine if there were differences in the numbers and affinities of beta adrenoreceptors in omental and subcutaneous adipose tissue of obese African American and Caucasian women. We determined the number of beta receptors using a nonselective antagonist and found the total number of receptors in both omental and subcutaneous adipose tissue preparations were higher in African American than Caucasian women. Beta (1)(,) beta (2), and beta (3) densities were higher in omental adipose tissue (P <.05), but not different in the subcutaneous tissue of the African American women. No racial differences in kd values for adrenergic agents (agonists and antagonists) were found with regard to beta (1), beta (2), or beta (3) receptors in either the omental or the subcutaneous preparations. Beta (1) and beta (2) receptor protein (mass) was significantly increased in African American omental tissue preparations, but not subcutaneous.

Our in vitro data demonstrating increased beta receptor numbers in omental tissue from obese African Americans suggest that the potential for lipolysis would be higher in these women.

Future studies should determine the biologic significance of the differences in the beta adrenergic receptors in vivo. Publication Types: Clinical Trial PMID: 14767879

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Rich Murray, MA
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Safety of aspartame Part 1/2 12.4.2: EC HCPD-G SCF: Murray 2003.01.12 rmforall EU Scientific Committee on Food, a whitewash

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Mark Gold exhaustively critiques European Commission Scientific Committee on Food re aspartame ( 2002.12.04 ): 59 pages, 230 references

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Mark Gold, most recent of 14 Rapid Responses to Aspartame and its effects on health, BMJ: Murray 2004.11.06

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8 more Rapid Responses to Aspartame and its effects on health, BMJ: Murray 2004.10.18

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5 critical Rapid Responses to Aspartame and its effects on health, Michael E J Lean and Catherine R Hankey, BMJ 2004; 329: 755-756: Murray 2004.10.05

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Aspartame and its effects on health, Michael E.J. Lean, Catherine R. Hankey, Glasgow UK, British Medical Journal: 11% methanol component of aspartame, and same level of methanol in dark wines and liquors, turns to formaldehyde and formic acid, the main cause of chronic hangover symptoms: Murray 2004.10.04
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/329/7469/755#76712