Monday, December 12, 2011

Ecstasy Causes Changes In The Brain

Ecstasy users may be causing permanent harm to their brains, new research from Vanderbilt University suggests. The dance club drug appears to drain the brain of serotonin, a vital chemical that helps regulate mood, appetite, sleep, learning and memory, say experts. Low levels of the neurotransmitter are associated with depression, sleep disturbance and insomnia. Scientists found that women who used ecstasy had more serotonin receptors – molecules that trigger biological responses to serotonin – in their brains. Individuals with greater lifetime exposure to the drug had higher receptor levels. The researchers believe the increase in receptor numbers is the brain’s attempt to compensate for a loss of serotonin caused by ecstasy. The same effect has already been seen in some animal studies. Researchers pointed out that ecstasy, which has the chemical name MDMA, is now being tested as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety linked to cancer. “It’s essential that we understand the risk associated with using ecstasy,” he said. “If news keeps coming out that MDMA 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 drug becomes toxic.