PARTY DRUGS 'MAKE PEOPLE AGE FASTER'

Party Drugs Could Be Making People Old Before Their Time, A Medical Expert Says

Drugs could lead to dementia, Dr Chris Davis, the director of geriatric
medicine at Brisbane's Prince Charles Hospital, said.

"Ageing will catch up with drug users at an earlier age," Dr Davis said today.

"An excess load on the metabolic activities destroy your brain cells and
the brain is the one organ which we cannot dive into and fix."

Dr Davis said people needed to think twice before taking anything that
altered their mental state.

Yesterday, the Federal Government was told partygoers who popped ecstasy
pills could cause an avalanche of future Alzheimer's patients.

Trish Worth, parliamentary secretary to the Health Minister, said many
revellers turning to party drugs, such as ecstasy, speed and ice, did not
realise the long-term effects such drugs would have on their brain.

Dr Davis said today anything that destroyed or limited brain cells could
cause dementia, which includes Alzheimer's disease.

Risky behaviours included drinking to excess, smoking cigarettes and
marijuana, sniffing paint and petrol, as well as taking amphetamines.

Forgetfulness and poor judgment were among the first symptoms of
Alzheimer's, but the partners, family members and carers of sufferers were
often those who were hardest hit, Dr Davis said.

Women had a higher incidence of dementia than men and the incidence was
rising exponentially as the population aged, he said.

"Dementia by the year 2017, which is not that far away, is predicted to be
the major cause in morbidity (disease) in females of all ages," Dr Davis said.