Iofetamine (iodine-123, ¹²³I), brand names Perfusamine, SPECTamine), or ''N''-isopropyl-(¹²³I)-''p''-iodoamphetamine (IMP), is a lipid-soluble

amine In chemistry, amines (, ) are compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are formally derivatives of ammonia (), wherein one or more hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element wi ...

and

radiopharmaceutical Radiopharmaceuticals, or medicinal radiocompounds, are a group of pharmaceutical drugs containing radioactive isotopes. Radiopharmaceuticals can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Radiopharmaceuticals emit radiation themselves, which ...

drug used in cerebral blood perfusion imaging with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Labeled with the

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

isotope Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numb ...

iodine-123 Iodine-123 (123I) is a radioactive isotope of iodine used in nuclear medicine imaging, including single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or SPECT/CT exams. The isotope's half-life is 13.2230 hours; the decay by electron capture to tellu ...

, it is approved for use in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as a diagnostic aid in determining the localization of and in the evaluation of non-lacunar stroke and

complex partial seizure Focal seizures (also called partial seizures and localized seizures) are seizures which affect initially only one hemisphere of the brain. The brain is divided into two hemispheres, each consisting of four lobes – the frontal, temporal, parie ...

s, as well as in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. An analogue of amphetamine, iofetamine has shown to inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and

norepinephrine Norepinephrine (NE), also called noradrenaline (NA) or noradrenalin, is an organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as both a hormone and neurotransmitter. The name "noradrenaline" (from Latin '' ad' ...

as well as induce the release of these neurotransmitters and of dopamine with similar potencies to other amphetamines like d-amphetamine and ''p''-chloroamphetamine. In addition, on account of its high

lipophilicity Lipophilicity (from Greek λίπος "fat" and φίλος "friendly"), refers to the ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats, oils, lipids, and non-polar solvents such as hexane or toluene. Such non-polar solvents are themselves lip ...

, iofetamine rapidly penetrates the blood-brain-barrier. Accordingly, though not known to have been reported in the

medical literature Medical literature is the scientific literature of medicine: articles in journals and texts in books devoted to the field of medicine. Many references to the medical literature include the health care literature generally, including that of denti ...

, iofetamine likely possesses psychostimulant and possibly entactogenic effects. However, based on structure-activity relationships, it may also be highly

neurotoxic Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specificall ...

serotonergic Serotonergic () or serotoninergic () means "pertaining to or affecting serotonin". Serotonin is a neurotransmitter. A synapse is serotonergic if it uses serotonin as its neurotransmitter. A serotonergic neuron ''produces'' serotonin. A substance is ...

and dopaminergic

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. ...

s similarly to most other ''para''- halogenated amphetamines.

References

{{Phenethylamines Substituted amphetamines Serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine releasing agents Iodoarenes Isotopes of iodine Radiopharmaceuticals Stimulants Isopropyl compounds

See also

References