STUDY LINKS ECSTASY USE WITH PARKINSON'S

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Partying with Ecstasy several times a night, a common
practice among users of the illegal drug, may damage key neurons in the
brain and perhaps hasten the onset of Parkinson's disease, according to a
study in monkeys.

But some researchers were skeptical that the results from the animal
studies translate to humans and said such studies discourage research that
might lead to medical uses for Ecstasy.

A Johns Hopkins University researcher injected squirrel monkeys and baboons
with three shots of Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, three hours apart,
mimicking dosages "often used by MDMA users at all-night dance parties." He
said the drug caused enduring damage to dopamine-producing neurons in the
brains of the animals.

The damage was still evident two weeks to six weeks later, said Dr. George
A. Recaurte, the lead author the study appearing this week in the journal
Science. But he said it is not clear if the damaged neurons will repair
themselves, a key factor in whether Ecstasy could cause Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder triggered by the permanent loss of
dopamine-producing nerve cells.

"We already know from the literature that brain dopamine declines with
age," he said. "A young individual who sustains injury to these dopamine
cells and depletes their reserve may be at greater risk of Parkinsonism."

But Julie A. Holland, a psychiatrist on the faculty of the New York
University School of Medicine, said earlier studies on humans have failed
to show that Ecstasy causes permanent damage to dopamine neurons. "It is a
big leap to extrapolate what he is seeing in these primates and what you
expect to see in Parkinson's syndrome," Holland, the author of a book on
the risk and recreational use of Ecstasy.

She said Ricaurte's research has helped "demonize" Ecstasy and prevented
studies to determine if the drug could be used to treat post traumatic
syndrome.

Dr. Alan I. Leshner, former head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
however, said the Ricaurte study shows "that even an occasional use of
Ecstasy can lead to significant damage to brain systems."

Stephen Kish, a University of Toronto researcher studying Parkinson's
disease and Ecstasy, said he analyzed the brain of a deceased habitual
Ecstasy user two years ago and found no evidence of dopamine neuron damage.

"Ricaurte's findings do raise a concern that Ecstasy may damage the
dopamine neurons and potentially cause Parkinson's," said Kish. But he said
the current study "might not translate to humans" and has not proven a
clear connection between the drug and the brain disease.

In the study, the animals were given six milligrams for every 2.2 pounds of
their weight. One of five monkeys and one of five baboons used in the study
died shortly after receiving the shots.

The brains of the surviving animals were examined microscopically and
chemically after two to eight weeks. The nerve endings where the dopamine
is processed were destroyed, said Ricaurte.

"There hasn't been a single animal that escaped the dopamine (cell)
lesions," he said.

Ricaurte said the damage was not enough to cause Parkinson's symptoms, but
there is "a clinical concern" that repeated use of Ecstasy will diminish
the natural reserve of brain cells and lead to early disease.

Holland said Ricaurte's study in monkeys and baboons does not relate to the
experience of human recreational users of Ecstasy.

"The dose that he gave killed 20 percent of the animals immediately," said
Holland. "Clearly these animals reacted to the drug differently than humans
because not one out of five Ecstasy users drops dead."

Also, she said Ricaurte's study injected Ecstasy, while most human users
take the drug orally. Drugs taken orally are less concentrated in the body
than drugs that are injected, said Holland.

The NYU psychiatrist said "there is a lot of politics involved" in
Ricaurte's study because the government does not want to allow medical
research with Ecstasy, even though it has been approved for study by the
Food and Drug Administration.

Ricaurte's research has been funded by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, the agency Leshner once headed. Leshner is now chief executive
officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
organization that publishes Science, the journal printing Ricaurte's
current study on Ecstasy.