ECSTASY 'HARMS BRAIN FOR LIFE'

The designer drug ecstasy, which has been associated with a number of
deaths, causes long-term brain damage, according to research in the United
States.

A team from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Maryland, and
the US National Institute of Mental Health, took brain scans of 14 long-term
users of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, the chemical name for
the drug that reportedly induces increased awareness of emotion.

They found the drug damaged the nerves in the brain which release serotonin,
the naturally occurring chemical that plays a role in mood, memory, pain
perception, sexual desire, sleep and appetite. The researchers report in the
Lancet today that they tapped the drug users' spinal fluid and found low
levels of a serotonin byproduct, itself evidence of damage.

George Ricaurte, head of the research team, which developed an examination
technique over five years, said: "This is the first time we have been able
to examine the serotonin-producing nerve cells directly in the brain."

Ecstasy attaches itself to the molecules that transport and re-absorb
serotonin into the nerve cells. The brain probes showed that ecstasy users
had far fewer serotonin transporters than people who did not take the drug.
Those patients who had taken the drug most often had also lost the most
transporters.

Some of the volunteers had not taken the drug for years - but there was no
evidence that abstaining improved matters.

"We have some indications that there may be changes in memory and
cognition," said Dr Ricaurte. "Our immediate concern is that people who use
MDMA recreationally are unwittingly putting themselves at risk of developing
brain injury."

John Henry, a professor at St Mary's Hospital, London, said yesterday that
ecstasy had been shown to damage nerve terminals in every animal tested. "We
have had indirect evidence that it is harmful in man. Now we have direct
evidence."

Users of the drug would be likely to have a higher incidence of depression
in later life, he added. "Serotonin is vital... for maintenance of mood. As
we get older, our serotonin turnover drops."

Checked-by: Don Beck