ECSTASY-PARKINSON'S DISEASE LINK

Some Of Those Afflicted Still Young, Says Ling

KUALA LUMPUR: Researchers believe that taking Ecstasy pills will damage and retard brain cells and cause Parkinson's disease earlier, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik.

He said research had shown a strong correlation between substance abuse and Parkinson's disease and according to the National Parkinson Foundation of Malaysia, 15% of the 20,000 Parkinson's disease sufferers in Malaysia were below 30 years old.

"The foundation is very worried as to why 15% of those diagnosed with the disease are below 30,'' he said.

Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the central nervous system.

Dr Ling said that in medical terms, this was a degeneration of nerve cells in the basal ganglia of the brain. "These nerve cells produce a chemical called dopamine which enables a person to receive transmission of message from the brain to various parts of the body.

"When the destruction level of nerve cells reaches 30%, the person will experience tremor of hands and limbs, suffer rigidity of muscles and experience a loss of balance," he said during the launch of the Chinese edition of the book on Parkinson's disease by NPFM.

"There is no known cure or treatment. It may appear at any age but the risk of developing it increases with age.

"As far as it is known, the disease is non-hereditary and non-contagious,'' he said.

The use of Ecstasy pills and its side effects had raised concern, especially among the Chinese community, as some 90% of Ecstasy pill users were young Chinese, said Dr Ling.

"Many of them are taking the substance without realising the terrible effects on their health as they are under the impression that the substance is harmless."

Adding that many of the pills were first imported but later produced locally, Dr Ling said the Ecstasy pills on sale could contain other dangerous substances like rat poison because there was no quality control and the side effects were harmful due to the unknown mixture of chemicals and substances.

He said the problem should be beyond just that of a community and as it was of national concern, everyone should play a part in the all-out war against Ecstasy.

"I am appreciative of the NPFM's efforts in publicising the medical problems of Parkinson's disease sufferers as well as the links between the disease and the use of Ecstasy pills,'' he said.

Expressing his concern, Dr Ling said it was frightening to see the trend in the United States and Europe where many underaged substance users had become Parkinson's disease patients even before they turned 20.

On the vision school concept, Dr Ling said the Cabinet had discussed this in depth and agreed that the programme would benefit the people and the country.

Giving the assurance that the character of the Chinese schools would not be changed, he said the integration programme would work without compromising the character of the schools.

"When it comes to sports day, the red house will have all races in the team and so will the other houses,'' he said, citing sports day and sharing the use of library as example of how the integration programme might be carried out.