Posted on 03/16/2003 1:56:47 AM PST by nickcarraway
A generation of young clubbers is risking long-term brain damage by taking the drug ecstasy, according to new research published yesterday. Academics are now warning that taking only one or two pills can lead to lasting depression.
A two-year research study carried out by psychologists from London Metropolitan University found that people who had tried ecstasy on only a few occasions had depression levels four times higher than those who had taken a range of other drugs but not ecstasy.
The findings presented to the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Bournemouth yesterday suggested that taking ecstasy left users susceptible to major problems triggered by stress or emotional turbulence.
The results were based on studying 519 volunteers, including current and past ecstasy users, and others who had either never used drugs or had used a number of drugs other than ecstasy, including alcohol and cannabis.
Participants were given a standard psychological questionnaire designed to discover to what extent they suffered from depression. A score of 25 on the questionnaire indicated clinically depression.
Non-ecstasy users, including those taking other drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, amphetamines and cocaine, had average scores of about four. But the scores of even non-frequent ecstasy users, including many who had only tried the drug once or twice, reached levels of 16 or 17. Frequent users scored values of up to 28 which put them in the category of clinically depressed even though they were generally not aware of the fact.
Ecstasy is currently listed as a class A drug along with cocaine and heroin although recreational users deny that it has any lasting side effects.
There have been 202 ecstasy deaths recorded in England and Wales between 1997 and April 2002. The dangers of the drug were first highlighted by the death of schoolgirl Leah Betts in 1995 who collapsed after taking ecstasy on her 18th birthday.
A report by the Home Affairs Select Committee recommended the downgrading of the drug and anti-drug abuse charities say the Government is sending out the wrong message by linking it with heroin and cocaine.
Lynn Taurah, who carried out the research with Dr Chris Chandler, said that ecstasy users did not realise they were depressed and she warned people to stay away from the drug.
"People often think taking ecstasy just once or twice won't matter, but what we're seeing is evidence that if you take ecstasy a couple of times you do damage to your brain that later in life will make you more vulnerable," she said.
Ms. Taurah added that findings supported evidence from animal studies suggesting that even small doses of ecstasy destroyed brain neurons that produced the important chemical messenger serotonin, which is closely linked to mood. Seven years after the initial damage there was no sign of the neurons repairing themselves.
The animal data raised the possibility that ecstasy may have a whole range of adverse effects involving memory, impulsiveness, decision-making, sleep, and mood.
The research has been received with some scepticism. Dr Jon Cole of Liverpool University, whose own research concluded that the adverse effects of ecstasy had been exaggerated, said that scientists had yet to produce conclusive evidence that the drug had a long term negative impact on users.
"Depression among ecstasy users is not unique. It is the same with people who abuse alcohol," said Dr Cole. "All the evidence so far points to the fact that all these side effects may be down to other factors."
No, I think they really did mean life-long depression. This particular study might be new, but it's nowhere near the first study that has stongly indicated the possibility that X just completely annihilates serotonin manufacturing in the brain. The hypothesis is that it sort of "breaks open the serotonin flood dam" in the brain; you get completely flooded for 18-24 hours (or however long the pills are good for these days; I know they're not the same as they were 15-20 years ago), but then the lake is gone and the dam's been vaporized.
The only thing I wonder is how much we can trust the researchers, since the British government has desperately been trying to "prove" that Ecstasy is about the most dangerous pill on the planet for years and years. If it wasn't for that, I'd have little trouble at all accepting this hypothesis as probably true. I'm sure never going near an Ecstacy pill.
If the "researcher" really said that and was not misquoted, I would have some doubts. I think she is looking for the pineal gland, not neurons.
So, it would be OK with you if the government advertised that Ecstasy makes users "nervous and anxious"? And the young people would believe that?
Bullhockey! It might be a bad drug to use recreationally, but this kind of 'Killer Weed' overhyping doesn't illustrate that. Ahh, the flatulent intellectualism of the WOsD.
Very scary. Do you have a source for that study? Also, do you have any idea whether LSD would have the same or similar effect on serotonin? LSD certainly changed people's lives forever, even one dose.
Damn, damn, damn.... That is not good...
LSD doesn't have the same or even a similar effect. LSD binds to serotonin receptors. Ecstasy doesn't bind to receptors; it simply causes serotonin (a lot) to be released into the synapse. Two completely different mechanisms of action.
Some really good easy-to-follow info here: This Is Your Brain On Ecstasy (An MDMA Neurochemistry Slideshow)
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=286213:
At the centre of the controversy are brain scans published in 1998 apparently showing that ecstasy destroys nerve cells involved in the production and transport of serotonin, a vital brain chemical involved in memory, sleep, sex, appetite and, primarily, mood. The scans used radioactive tagging to highlight the number of those nerve cells: those for non-users showed large "bright" regions but those of ecstasy users showed fewer. The pictures were used in anti-drugs advertising, and research findings used to underpin stiffer penalties for ecstasy use.
In an accompanying editorial today, the magazine says: "Our investigation suggests the experiments are so irretrievably flawed that the scientific community risks haemorrhaging credibility if it continues to let them inform public policy."
Two independent experts told New Scientist there was a key flaw a " the way brains reacted to this kind of scan, known as PET, varied enormously with or without ecstasy. Some "healthy" brains glowed up to 40 times brighter than others, and even a number of ecstasy users' brains outshone ecstasy-free brains by factors of 10 or more.
Stephen Kish, a neuropathologist at the Centre for Addiction and Health, Toronto, told the magazine: "There are no holes in the brains of ecstasy users. And if anyone wants a straightforward answer to whether ecstasy causes any brain damage, it's impossible to get one from these papers."
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