MEMORY OFTEN A VICTIM OF ECSTASY

Ecstasy, the popular drug often associated with the club scene, may
harm the memories of people who use it regularly, researchers are reporting.

The report, in the current issue of Neurology, was based on a study of
15 Ecstasy users, ages 17 to 31, over a yearlong period. The study
subjects reported taking the drug an average of 2.4 times a month.

Dr. Konstantine Zakzanis of the University of Toronto, one of the
authors, said in a statement that for more occasional users, there was
no evidence yet to suggest permanent memory impairment.

Ecstasy has been the subject of much controversy. The illegal drug has
been linked to some deaths, but it has amassed a broad following,
including some mental health experts who believe it may have value for
treating patients.

Because the drug affects the hippocampus, a part of the brain
associated with learning and new memories, the authors of the article
wanted to explore whether Ecstasy harmed those functions. They
administered a variety of tests, including some in which participants
were read short passages and then were asked to recall them right away
or after a brief delay.

They concluded that continued use of the drug did appear to be linked
with different types of memory decline. Over the course of the year,
for example, the Ecstasy users' ability to recall the passages after a
delay declined by about half.

Still, the authors noted the pitfalls of such a study, which relied on
the drug users to accurately report how much Ecstasy they were using.
And as with any street drug, there was no way to know exactly what the
study participants were taking.