Simultaneous determination of amphetamine-type stimulants in abusers’ hair: clinical usefulness of hair analysis in prehospitalization for abusers

Simultaneous determination of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATSs), such as methamphetamine (MA), amphetamine (AP), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), and p-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), has been made for hair of 32 female abusers from different ethnic backgrounds. One milligram of abuser's hair spiked with 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine as internal standard was used for each determination of the ATSs. After digestion with 1 M NaOH, the samples were extracted with n-heptane; the organic layer was evaporated to dryness, dissolved in 75 mM of borate buffer solution (pH 8.5), and labeled with 4-(N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole. The determination of the ATSs in hair was performed by the semi-micro high-performance liquid chromatography-chemiluminescence method. Thirty-two subjects who had self-report histories of ATS use for more than 1 week prior to hair sample collection participated in this study. Concentration ranges of ATSs in abusers’ hair were 0.07–6.73 ng/mg for MA (n = 24), 0.18–2.47 ng/mg for AP (n = 13), 0.05–0.86 ng/mg for MDMA (n = 12), 0.52–1.38 ng/mg for MDA (n = 3), and 0.09–1.88 ng/mg for PMMA (n = 6). Several discrepancies between detected drugs and information obtained from the interviewed abusers were found. Most of the drugs determined in this study could not be detected by the urine test performed at hospitalization. Correlation between ATS concentration and psychiatric symptoms on the basis of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was also studied. Simultaneous determination of ATSs in hair of outpatients and inpatients at psychiatric clinics and hospitals should be effective in providing proper diagnosis and treatment. This is the first report to demonstrate the presence of PMMA in hair of human subjects.