ONE ECSTASY PILL COULD RUIN MENTAL HEALTH FOR LIFE: STUDY

Taking just one or two ecstasy pills could cause long-lasting brain damage
and lead to depression, scientists have warned.

A team of British psychologists found that people who had tried ecstasy
only a few times had depression levels four times higher than those who had
taken a range of other drugs, but not ecstasy.

Although they did not qualify as clinically depressed, they were left
susceptible to problems triggered by stress or emotional turbulence, the
findings found.

Researcher Lynn Taurah, from the London Metropolitan University, said:
"People often think taking ecstasy just once or twice won't matter, but
we're seeing evidence that if you take ecstasy a couple of times you do
damage to your brain that later in life will make you more vulnerable.

"Many of these people are working professionals, and you can imagine if
they have a problem or a bit of stress in their life their depression
levels could go up. Taking ecstasy is really not a good idea."

Ms Taurah said the findings supported evidence from animal studies
suggesting that even small doses of ecstasy destroyed brain neurons that
produced the chemical messenger serotonin, which is closely linked to mood.

However, Paul Dillon, information manager at the National Drug and Alcohol
Research Centre, said the findings were "alarmist and misleading".

"It's important to note that the animal studies and psychological studies
are separate," he said.

"It's still a leap to say one or two ecstasy pills causes long-term brain
damage. A link between human use and brain damage has yet to be established."

Mr Dillon said findings that linked ecstasy use to depression are
inconclusive as "many people who take the drug already have a
predisposition to depression".

He said research should be conducted as to why the "drug is taken in the
first place".

The researchers, who presented their findings to the British Psychological
Society at the weekend, studied 519 volunteers. These included some who
were current or past ecstasy users and others who had either never taken
drugs or taken several drugs other than ecstasy, including alcohol and
cannabis.

They were also broken down into those who had used the drug more or less
than 20 times.

Participants in the study were given a standard psychological questionnaire
designed to discover to what extent they suffered from depression.

The results produced scores which once they passed the figure of 25
indicated that they were clinically depressed. Non-ecstasy users, including
those taking other drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, amphetamines
and cocaine, had average scores of about four.

Scores of non-frequent ecstasy users, including many who had only tried the
drug once or twice, reached levels of 16 or 17.

For the frequent users, score values of up to 28 were found which put them
in the category of clinically depressed.

Seven years after the initial damage there was no sign of the neurons
repairing themselves.