William Melega, Ph.D.


wmelega@mednet.ucla.edu


Work Address:
Office
BRI
Los Angeles, CA 90095
UNITED STATES


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Quick Links Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences


Research Interest:

Molecular mechanisms associated with neurodegenerative diseases and drug addiction.

This brain research program has a central theme of integrated systems biology in which molecular mechanisms associated with neurodegenerative diseases and drug abuse are studied. Analytical techniques include a wide range of biochemical methodologies in addition to noninvasive assessment of brain neurochemistry with positron emission tomography (PET).

The specific projects include:

  1. Presently, we are studying mechanisms of neuronal adaptation and toxicity associated with chronic methamphetamine exposure. Drugs and growth factor therapies are evaluated in rodent animal models for their potential to produce biochemical and behavioral recovery.

  2. Neurorestorative strategies for neurodegenerative diseases. Functional alterations in brain neurochemistry and morphology are evaluated in rodent models of Parkinson's disease after intervention procedures (neuroprotective drugs, viral vectors, stem cells, vaccines). This work will establish the rationale and methodology for central nervous system - intervention strategies that can be applied to humans with neurodegenerative diseases.

Publications:

Laćan G, Plenevaux A, Rubins D, Way BM, Defraiteur C, Gillet S, Lemaire C, Aerts J, Luxen, A, Cherry SR, Melega WP. Cyclosporine, a p-glycoprotein modulator, increases 18F-MPPF binding in rat brain and peripheral tissues: Micropet and ex vivo studies.. Eur. J. Nuc. Med. Mol. Imaging 2008; .
Chin MH, Qian W-J, Wang H, Petyuk VA, Bloom JS, Sforza DM, Laćan G, Liu D, Khan AH, Cantor RM, Bigelow DJ, Melega WP, Camp II DG, Richard D. Smith RD, Smith DJ. miRNAs and codon usage regulate striatal gene and protein expression in two mouse models of Parkinson’s disease.. J Proteome Res. 2008; 7: 666-677.
Melega WP, Cho AK, Harvey DC, Lacan G Methamphetamine blood concentrations in human abusers: application to pharmacokinetic modeling. Synapse 2007; 61: 216-220.
O'Neil ML,Kuczenski R, Segal DS, Cho AK, Lacan G, Melega WP Escalating dose pretreatment induces pharmacodynamic and not pharmacokinetic tolerance to a subsequent high-dose methamphetamine binge. Synapse 2006; 60: 465-473.
Segal DS, Kuczenski R, O'Neil ML, Melega WP, Cho AK Prolonged exposure of rats to intravenous methamphetamine: behavioral and neurochemical characterization. . Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2005; 180: 501-512.
Segal, DS Kuczenski, R O'Neil, ML Melega, WP Cho, AK Prolonged exposure of rats to intravenous methamphetamine: behavioral and neurochemical characterization.. Psychopharmacology. . 2005; 180(3): 501-12.
Segal DS, Kuczenski R, ONeil ML, Melega WP, Cho AK. Escalating dose methamphetamine pretreatment alters the behavioral and neurochemical profiles associated with exposure to a high dose methamphetamine binge. 2003; 28: 1730-40.
Rubins, DJ Melega, WP Lacan, G Way, B Plenevaux, A Luxen, A Cherry, SR Development and evaluation of an automated atlas-based image analysis method for microPET studies of the rat brain.. NeuroImage. . 2003; 20(4): 2100-18.
Cho AK, Melega WP Patterns of methamphetamine abuse and their consequences.. Journal of addictive diseases : the official journal of the ASAM, American Society of Addiction Medicine. . 2002; 21(1): 21-34.
Brown, VM Ossadtchi, A Khan, AH Yee, S Lacan, G Melega, WP Cherry, SR Leahy, RM Smith, DJ Multiplex three-dimensional brain gene expression mapping in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.. Genome research. . 2002; 12(6): 868-84.
Cho, AK Melega, WP Kuczenski, R Segal, DS Relevance of pharmacokinetic parameters in animal models of methamphetamine abuse.. Synapse (New York, N.Y.) . 2001; 39(2): 161-6.
Melega WP, Lacan G, DeSalles AAF, Phelps ME Long term methamphetamine-induced decreases of [11C]WIN 35,428 binding in striatum are reduced by GDNF: PET studies in the vervet monkey. Synapse 2000; 35: 243-249.
Harvey DC, Lacan G, Melega WP. Regional heterogeneity of dopaminergic deficits in vervet monkey striatum and substantia nigra after methamphetamine exposure.. Exp. Brain Research 2000; 133: 349-358.
Harvey, DC Lacan, G Tanious, SP Melega, WP Recovery from methamphetamine induced long-term nigrostriatal dopaminergic deficits without substantia nigra cell loss.. Brain research. . 2000; 871(2): 259-70.
Cho, AK Melega, WP Kuczenski, R Segal, DS Schmitz, DA Caudate-putamen dopamine and stereotypy response profiles after intravenous and subcutaneous amphetamine.. Synapse (New York, N.Y.) . 1999; 31(2): 125-33.
Melega, WP Cho, AK Schmitz, D Kuczenski, R Segal, DS l-methamphetamine pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics for assessment of in vivo deprenyl-derived l-methamphetamine.. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics. . 1999; 288(2): 752-8.
Melega WP, Lacan G, Harvey, DC, Huang S-C, Phelps ME Methamphetamine-induced striatal dopamine deficits not blocked by MK801 and hypothermia: PET studies with WIN 35,428.. Neurosci Lett. 1998; 258: 17-20. .
Kuczenski R, Melega WP, Cho AK, Segal DS Extracellular dopamine and amphetamine following systemic administration: Comparison to the behavioral response.. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1997; 282: 591-596.


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