Ecstasy: useful but dangerous

By Shelby D Burns, Wed, December 07, 2011

Ecstasy may have a place as a prescription drug, and doctors are worried that until the discover the specific dosage levels, troubled individuals may self-medicate. The “rave” drug that is associated with feelings of euphoria and emotional warmth is also associated with chronic changes in the brain.

Vanderbilt University investigators reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry tht there is growing evidence that Ecstasy creates long term serotonin neurotoxicity. “Our study provides some of the strongest evidence to date that the drug causes chronic loss of serotonin in humans,” said Ronald Cowan, MD, PhD, associate professor of Psychiatry.

Serotonin is a critical signaling molecule helping neurons communicate with each other. It has a role regulating mood, appetite, sleep, learning and memory.

Ecstasy, or MDMA, may have therapeutic benefits for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, especially anxiety arising from cancer. “It’s essential that we understand the risk associated with using Ecstasy,” Cowan explained. “If news keeps coming out that MMA is being tested therapeutically and is safe, more people will tend to self-administer the drug. We need to know the dose at which this drub becomes toxic. Our studies suggest that if you use Ecstasy recreationally, the more you use, the more brain changes you get.”

For the study, they compared results from women who had used ecstasy, but not in the 90 days prior to the tests, to women who had never used the drug. They found inefficient brain functioning in three key areas of the drug-users’ brains that are associated with visual processing.

“It’s really critical to know whether or not this drug is causing long-term brain damage because millions of people are using it,” Cowan summed up.

Source: MedicalNewsToday, Archives of General Psychiatry

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