ANNALS OF SCIENCE: BAD TRIP ON 'E'

Daily newspapers have a documented capacity to scare the dickens out of
people. This is especially true of breathless news reports from the front
lines of science and medicine.

Doubters of this gross generalization are invited to consider a recent case
that unexpectedly came to the ombud's attention earlier this week.

On Sept. 27, 2002, the Star ran an item about Ecstasy, an illegal
hallucinogenic drug associated with toxic reactions, heart failure and
other things.

The item, accompanied by a surreal file photo of a young man with an
Ecstasy pill on his elongated tongue, got right to the point:

"Just several doses of the drug Ecstasy, taken in the course of an evening,
may increase a person's risk for developing certain neurological disorders
later in life, suggests a new study on monkeys and baboons."

The staff-written article, based on research published by a U.S. journal,
Science, said, "two or three doses typically taken by young adults during
an all-night dance party may be enough for long-term brain cell damage."

The researchers said humans who take the drug (sometimes called E) are at
risk because the drug damages brain dopamine neurons in primates. (Brain
dopamine cells help control movement, emotional cognitive responses and
ability to feel pleasure.)

"The most troubling implication of the study, say scientists, is that young
adults using Ecstasy may be increasing their risk for developing
Parkinsonism, a condition similar to Parkinson's disease, as they get
older," the story said.

The headline -- "A night to forget" -- completed a tidy package that gave
readers absolutely no information about how the project was designed or
carried out.

Even if those basic facts had been included, Star editors could hardly have
anticipated what happened next.

Twelve months later, in September, Science published what can only be
described as a mind-boggling retraction.

The experiment had been botched. Turns out the researchers, led by Dr.
George A. Ricaurte of Johns Hopkins University, had not injected the
monkeys and baboons with Ecstasy at all.

They'd overdosed the primates with injections of another drug
(methamphetamine), killing two. Neurologist Ricaurte admitted the labels on
two vials had been switched by mistake.

Regrettably, news of the retraction didn't reach Star readers in a timely
way. It only came to my attention on Tuesday when The New York Times ran a
story by Donald G. McNeil, Jr. about the ruined $1.3 million study.

The Times said Ricaurte is "probably the best-known Ecstasy expert in the
war on drugs," having received $10 million (U.S.) from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse over the years.

The Times said the error that messed up four other studies wasn't the first
time Dr. Ricaurte's lab was accused of using flawed studies to suggest
recreational drugs are highly dangerous.

"In previous years he was accused of publicizing doubtful results without
checking them, and was criticized for research that contributed to a
government campaign suggesting that Ecstasy made 'holes in the brain.'"

The Times reported Johns Hopkins continues to stand behind Ricaurte, "who
made an honest mistake, then discovered it and revealed it."

Ricaurte has said he's unfairly attacked by scientists who minimize the
dangers of designer drugs because they want to use them in other research.

The Ecstasy fiasco is a reminder to be wary of people in white coats who
bring startling news.

(Disclaimer: This column was about shoals and pitfalls in science
journalism, not an endorsement of Ecstasy.)