Posted on 07/19/2004 8:22:02 PM PDT by neverdem
People who do not want to wait for old age to shrink their brains and bring on memory loss now have a quicker alternative - abuse methamphetamine for a decade or so and watch the brain cells vanish into the night.
The first high-resolution M.R.I. study of methamphetamine addicts shows "a forest fire of brain damage," said Dr. Paul Thompson, an expert on brain mapping at the University of California, Los Angeles. "We expected some brain changes but didn't expect so much tissue to be destroyed."
The image, published in the June 30 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, shows the brain's surface and deeper limbic system. Red areas show the greatest tissue loss.
The limbic region, involved in drug craving, reward, mood and emotion, lost 11 percent of its tissue. "The cells are dead and gone," Dr. Thompson said. Addicts were depressed, anxious and unable to concentrate.
The brain's center for making new memories, the hippocampus, lost 8 percent of its tissue, comparable to the brain deficits in early Alzheimer's. The methamphetamine addicts fared significantly worse on memory tests than healthy people the same age.
The study examined 22 people in their 30's who had used methamphetamine for 10 years, mostly by smoking it, and 21 controls matched for age. On average, the addicts used an average of four grams a week and said they had been high on 19 of the 30 days before the study began.
Methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant made in clandestine laboratories nationwide. When taken by mouth, snorted, injected or smoked, it produces intense pleasure by releasing the brain's reward chemical, dopamine. With chronic use, the brains that overstimulate dopamine and another brain chemical, serotonin, are permanently compromised.
The study held one other surprise, Dr. Thompson said: white matter, composed of nerve fibers that connect different areas, was severely inflamed, making the addicts' brains 10 percent larger than normal. "This was shocking," he said. But there was one piece of good news: the white matter was not dead. With abstinence, it might recover.
They look emaciated because they rarely eat. Meth is an appetite surpressant.
"They look emaciated because they rarely eat. Meth is an appetite surpressant."
Yes I figure that was the reason for the skeletal appearance. I tested the trash I knew by buying her a lunch time sandwich to see if she'd eat it. I never saw her eat food and she never seemed hungry at normal eating times so I suspected she was abusing drugs. She just picked at the deli club sandwich and eventually tucked it away. I think she may have suspected I was testing her. Like I said they're extremely crafty albiet half their brain baked.
They enjoy the high and it's cheap. If they're not careful, they're addicted before they know it. I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who says they wanted to have any kind of chemical dependency.
True, but the extreme appearance is not just due to that. With the loss of limbic system function, and other brain deficits, the users can know longer feel or express emotion properly.
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It's not a matter of being careful or you might get addicted, it's a matter of not using it at all or you will get addicted. I developed a physical dependency for it over the course of a weekend. Thankfully I got out fairly quickly, but not before dropping to 120 lbs (I'm was about 5'11" at the time and 15 years old) -- hard to imagine it's been almost a decade already and I still get cravings.
That 27% figure is really incredible! Do you have a census link on the net for it?
See #48 -- 10 years
Many do become addicted, but not everyone. American flight surgeons prescribe relatively small doses to jet pilots for prolonged missions. The Wehrmacht issued it to its troops on the eastern front fighting against the Russians. Believe me, it's not universal. Certain individuals probably have a more pronounced genetic susceptability. IIRC, there are five types of dopamine receptors. The dopamine system is involved in all chemical addictions including alcohol and nicotine.
BTTT
Congrats on being clean ten years.
Yeah. And he's not a killer either...
ping
Welcome back, and thanks...
Would you say it's as bad as crack?
Doesn't constant exposure to the New York Times create similar brain damage? Seems to in TV anchormen.
Drug use leading cause found HERE
U.S. Census Bureau report: Grandparents as Caregivers
They changed the AARP webpage since I was there last, but here is the link to Grandsplace
Thanks!
And good luck to all of those involved on your side!
No. What about gun control laws? Should you give up your constitutional rights because liberals take over and try to take them away? What about abortion laws? Abortion might be legal but it's killing of a human being --- killing your own child. Drug use should be avoided because it's stupid --- including the use of most legal drugs.
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