PARTY DRUG ECSTASY MAY CAUSE MORE WIDESPREAD BRAIN DAMAGE THAN PREVIOUSLY
THOUGHT

Raising new concerns about use of the popular recreational drug ecstasy, or
MDMA, scientists have found that just a few doses of the substance causes
extensive damage to brain cells in monkeys. The findings, published today
in the journal Science, suggest that using ecstasy may increase the risk of
developing Parkinsonism - a condition similar to Parkinson's disease -
later in life.

Earlier animal studies had shown that repeated ecstasy use damages the
serotonin brain cells, which help to regulate mood and behavior. In the new
work, Johns Hopkins University researchers working with squirrel monkeys
and baboons found that two or three sequential doses of the drug-the amount
typically taken by young adults at all-night "raves" - killed dopamine
neurons, which are involved in controlling movement, emotional and
cognitive responses and the ability to feel pleasure. Indeed, some 60 to 80
percent of the dopaminergic nerve endings in a region of the brain known as
the striatum were destroyed after just one multi-dose regimen. (In the
image above, the depletion of dopamine binding sites is indicated by the
increase in blues and greens seen in the scan on the right compared to the
one on the left.)

In humans, once damage to these nerve endings crosses a certain threshold,
leading to an 80 to 90 percent loss of brain dopamine, Parkinsonism
typically occurs. If ecstasy damages dopamine neurons in humans the way it
does in monkeys, team member George A. Ricaurte says, Parkinsonism could
develop years after taking the drug because brain dopamine declines with
age. "The message seems clear," he adds. "The neurotoxic potential of MDMA
is high, and use of several sequential recreational doses could have
serious, long-term consequences."