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What "longitudinal studies" (the non-longitudinal studies are equally alarming)? In any case such studies can be and are controlled. (Otherwise they would not be scientific.) Studies on other primates have found similar results.Originally Posted by JCSkinner
(1) Permanent brain damage- even after just experimental use.
[FONT=Verdana]A study headed by Wei Liu MD and published in December 2006 linked Ecstacy use to brain damage- even in those who are first time users. Research from [FONT=Verdana]the[/FONT] University of Amsterdam has shown Ecstacy can affect blood flow in the brain and alter [FONT=Verdana]the[/FONT] memories of short-term users. Researchers recruited 188 participants that were thinking of trying Ecstacy but who had not yet tried it. All subjects underwent brain scans and memory testing. After an 18-month period, 59 subjects decided to try Ecstacy. The same tests were repeated in these subjects, as well as 59 controls. On average, those who tried Ecstacy used only 6 pills. The results showed that those who tried Ecstacy had a lowering in blood flow in specific parts of the brain. In addition, those who tried the drug had subtle changes in their memories. (see below)
(2) Long-term irreversible memory damage.
Another recent Dutch study headed by Liesbeth Reneman, MD investigated whether the long-term effects of MDMA use on cortical 5-HT neurons in humans and memory function. To quote the study's conclusion: "The present study suggests that, while the neurotoxic effects of MDMA on 5-HT neurons in the human cortex may be reversible, the effects of MDMA on memory function may be long-lasting."
The full study available free in the peer-reviewed Archives of General Psychiatry.
(3) A damaged immune system.
At the British Association Festival of Science in Dublin in September 2005, Dr. Thomas Connor of Trinity College Dublin said Ecstasy damages the nerve cells in the brain that produce serotonin, an effect that can last for years and can lead to anxiety and depression. Additionally, he said the drug has important immuno-suppressive properties that can dampen down the normal functioning of the immune system which has the potential to increase an individual's susceptibility to disease.
(4) A risk of lifetime depression.
Lynn Taurah and Chris Chandler studied 519 subjects including current and past Ecstasy users, people who used other drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines but not Ecstasy, and people who did not use illicit drugs. The researchers asked participants to fill out a questionnaire measuring depressive symptoms, with a score of 25 or more indicating clinical depression. Subjects were divided into three categories: frequent Ecstasy users (more than 20 times), infrequent users (one to 19 times), and nonusers. The researchers found that people who did not use Ecstasy, including subjects who took other drugs, had average depression scores of about four points. In contrast, Ecstasy users—including those who had used the drug only one or two times—had scores as high as 16 or 17, and chronic users had scores as high as 28. Taurah says, "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 adds, "[W]e've got a group taking every other kind of drug, including amphetamines, ketamine and cocaine, and they haven't got these depression scores." This, she says, argues against the idea that the depressive symptoms of Ecstasy users predated drug use.
(5) Increased aggressiveness and suicidal ideation.
The above researchers' findings support those of laboratory scientists who are reporting that Ecstasy damages neurons which produce the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin abnormalities are linked to depression as well as to other psychiatric problems including impulsive aggression and suicide attempts. In addition, the drug appears to damage neurons involved in the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Among recent findings:
• Researcher Andy Parrott reports that a review of the literature on Ecstasy shows that "repeated doses of MDMA cause serotonergic neurotoxicity in laboratory animals, and there is extensive evidence for long-term neuropsychopharmacological damage in humans." He notes that even after stopping their use of the drug, regular Ecstasy users "often display reduced levels of 5-HT, 5-HIAA, tryptophan hydroxylase and serotonin transporter density," all evidence of impaired serotonin system function. In addition, he says, studies of Ecstasy users show deficits in learning and memory, higher cognitive processing, sleep, appetite, psychiatric well-being, and sexual desire.
• Using PET scans, R. Buchert and colleagues in Germany found that compared with non-drug users, Ecstasy users showed significant alterations in serotonin transporter distribution in several brain regions.
• Johns Hopkins researchers reported that primates exposed to several doses of Ecstasy "developed severe brain dopaminergic neurotoxicity, in addition to less pronounced serotonergic neurotoxicity." They concluded, "MDMA users may unwittingly be putting themselves at risk, either as young adults or later in life, for developing neuropsychiatric disorders related to brain dopamine and/or serotonin deficiency."
Una McCann and colleagues caution, too, that reports that Ecstasy damage may be at least partially reversible should not lead to a false sense of security. "Axonal regeneration in the adult brain may lead to abnormal, dysfunctional circuitry," they say, adding, "Experimental studies report that MDMA's neurotoxic effects on serotonin neurons in primates are extremely long-lasting and may be permanent." McCann and George Ricaurte cite research showing that in the dorsal neocortex, the density of serotonin axons remains markedly reduced for up to seven years following exposure to Ecstasy.
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Research by Lynn Taurah and Chris Chandler reported at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society, March 15, 2003. Quotes appear in "Single Ecstasy tablet could lead to brain damage and depression," L. McDougall, Sunday Herald, March 16, 2003, and "Ecstasy makes users depressed for life," S. Goodchild and K. Johnson, U. K. Independent, March 16, 2003.
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"Long-term effects of 'Ecstasy' use on serotonin transporters of the brain investigated by PET," Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Vol. 44, No. 3, March 2003, 375-84. Address: R. Buchert, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
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"Assessing long-term risks of MDMA (Ecstasy)," George Ricaurte and Una McCann, The Lancet, Vol. 358, No. 9296, December 1, 2001, 1831-2. Address: George Ricaurte, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224.
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"'Ecstasy' and serotonin neurotoxicity," U. McCann, G. Ricaurte, and M. Molliver, Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 58, October 2001, 907-8. Address: Una D. McCann, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205.
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"Human psychopharmacology of Ecstasy (MDMA): a review of 15 years of empirical research," A. C. Parrott, Human Psychopharmacology, Vol. 16, No. 8, December 2001, 557-77. Address: A. C. Parrott, Department of Psychology, University of East London, Romford Road, London, U.K. E15 4L2.
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"Severe dopaminergic neurotoxicity in primates after a common recreational dose regimen of MDMA ('Ecstasy')," G. A. Ricaurte, J Yuan, G. Hatzidimitriou, B. J. Cord, and U. D. McCann, Science, Vol. 297, September 2002, 2260-3. Address: George Ricaurte, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224. verage, those who tried Ecstacy used only 6 pills. The results showed that those who tried Ecstacy had a lowering in blood flow in specific parts of the brain. In addition, those who tried the drug had subtle changes in their memories.
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