ECSTASY LINKED TO LOSS OF MEMORY

Pulsing music. Flashing lights. Twisting bodies. Rave.

For many people, these things equal a good time. For those using the
club drug Ecstasy, it could mean losing their memory.

An article written by Ohio State University Associate Professor
Stephen Koesters, doctor of internal medicine and pediatrics, compiled
results of current studies stating Ecstasy use could lead to memory
loss.

"We know that Ecstasy kills nerve cells, and we're not sure what all
that means; but we have a concern that 10 to 20 years from now there
will be some major damage to memory," Koesters said.

Since human research is hard to conduct, most of the studies in
Koesters' article are based on animal subjects.

"In every study, all the animals have had some damage from Ecstasy,"
Koesters said. "In one experiment, a primate was given four doses of
Ecstasy in four days. Six years later, when the primate died, the
autopsy showed that it still had damage to its nerve cells."

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) - Ecstasy's scientific name - is
a mood-altering drug, which effects the serotonin levels in the body.
Serotonin is a chemical produced by nerve cells that regulates mood
and anxiety.

People with low serotonin levels are usually depressed and are treated
with drugs such as Prozac, which gradually increases the production of
serotonin to healthy levels. Ecstasy also increases serotonin levels
in the brain to levels which result in harm to the body.

"It causes a flood effect in the brain by releasing the serotonin, but
somewhere in the process it kills the cells too," Koesters said. "It
may be that the drug pushes the nerve cell so hard that it exhausts
itself and it just dies."

Information about how much damage Ecstasy causes is hard to obtain
since there is no way to do research on the drug's use. Many of the
reported hospital cases also showed that Ecstasy users were usually
using other drugs as well.

"There is not any safe dose," Koesters said "A lot of people don't
have side-effects and then keep doing it. A couple of doses or even
one large dose could be enough to cause serious damage."

To date, there is not a cure for the damage Ecstasy causes.

"Brain cells either don't heal well or not at all," Koesters said.
"Some grow back but may have abnormal connections and this damage
could be permanent."

Koesters said if people were educated about the long-term effects
Ecstasy has on the brain, they would not use it.

"Simply telling a student 'no,' doesn't hurt, but it doesn't always
work. But if you truly make an effort to teach people, to let them
know the effects - that it definitely damages brain cells - people
will at least take note of it," Koesters said.

TracyCat, a senior in comparative studies and a user of Ecstasy
disagrees.

TracyCat said she knows about the depletion in serotonin levels that
Ecstasy use can cause. In conjunction with Ecstasy, TracyCat smokes
weed with friends and knows about potential memory loss problems.

"You get old, you lose your brain anyway; you can't keep yourself
healthy forever," she said.

TracyCat will often feel the effects the next day where she will feel
lazy and want to sleep - it's a reaction she has come to expect.

Even after experiencing the after effects, TracyCat said she would
love to do Ecstasy again.

TracyCat isn't the only casual user of Ecstasy, said Julie Joseph, a
Columbus police detective. Ecstasy use in Ohio has increased in the
last five years, but has been stabilizing.

"We haven't done any raids of raves," Joseph said. "Ecstasy use is
very hard to police, but we've noticed that most of the use isn't at
just raves, it's gone mainstream."

Stacey Frohnaphel Hasson, chief of communication and training at the
State Drug Program, said the results of the 2002 PRIDE Survey were the
first recorded numbers of Ecstasy use among high schoolers.

"In Ohio the results reported 3.1 percent of eighth graders, 6.4
percent of tenth graders and 8.9 percent of twelfth graders had tried
Ecstasy," Frohnaphel Hasson said. "Ohio is right along with the
national average."

"We have no studies that show what the usage is like among college
students, but there is a good chance that if they've tried it by
twelfth grade or by age 21, there will be more users," Frohnaphel
Hasson said.

Ecstasy was created in the 1950's and became common in the 1970's when
therapists used it on their patients to increase communication. In
1985 the Drug Enforcement Agency classified Ecstasy as a Schedule I
drug.

"A Schedule I drug has a hallucinogenic property -- no medical use. It
isn't prescribed by doctors, and it has the potential for abuse,"
Joseph said. "Punishment is dependent on the amount a person has in
possession."

Possession of Ecstasy is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a
potential $1 million fine.