Pubdate: Fri, 27 Sep 2002
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2002 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Linda Marsa, Times Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

STUDY LINKS ECSTASY'S EFFECT TO PARKINSON'S

Health: Animal Tests Show The Party Drug Can Lead To Severe Brain Damage 
And Disease Symptoms Such As Loss Of Motor Skills.

Even one typical night's use of the club drug Ecstasy may damage nerve 
cells in the brain responsible for movement, increasing the risk of 
Parkinson's disease and similar disorders, researchers report today.

The findings were based on animal studies in which monkeys and baboons were 
given the kinds of doses that users might consume at all-night dance 
parties. The animals suffered profound neurological damage, according to 
results published in the journal Science, and lost 60% to 80% of the brain 
cells that transmit dopamine, a brain chemical that regulates movement.

"We've never seen an effect of this magnitude before, and we were surprised 
that one session caused this much damage," said Dr. George A. Ricaurte, a 
study coauthor and a neurologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 
Baltimore.

Ecstasy gained popularity in the '90s as part of the rave club scene, and 
young partygoers sometimes take three or four doses over several hours.

Previous animal studies had shown that the drug damages as much as 30% to 
40% of serotonin neurons, which produce a brain chemical that regulates 
mood and behavior. This depletion may account for the emotional letdown 
habitual users often experience after weekend Ecstasy binges, experts say.

The drug's effect on dopamine was twice as severe, which is worrisome 
because it may predispose even occasional users to neurological problems, 
the researchers said. Because there is only one known case of an Ecstasy 
user having movement problems, the lack of obvious or immediate harmful 
effects contributes to "the misperception that Ecstasy is a safe drug," 
Ricaurte said.

But Parkinson's symptoms usually don't emerge until individuals lose more 
than 80% to 90% of their dopamine neurons. Because dopamine levels decline 
as people age, Ecstasy users may be placing themselves at risk of 
developing symptoms of the motor disorder, Ricaurte said.

Some scientists, however, said the findings might not apply to humans.

"This study is seriously flawed and the interpretation misleading," said 
Dr. Charles S. Grob, director of the division of child and adolescent 
psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance. The animals in the 
experiment were injected with Ecstasy, and that can be much more toxic than 
ingesting the drug orally, which is how it is normally used, he said.

And while illicit street use is "dangerous because the drug is often 
adulterated with harmful compounds," he said, any possible brain cell 
damage is probably not permanent.

Researchers said the next step is to determine the drug's neurological 
effect on humans. Scientists at Johns Hopkins are doing brain imaging scans 
on habitual Ecstasy users to see if they have dopamine and serotonin 
deficits, but test results aren't yet available.

Still, this is an important study because it demonstrates Ecstasy may 
seriously damage two key systems in the brain, those controlling movement 
and mood, said Alan I. Leshner, chief executive of the American Assn. for 
the Advancement of Science, which publishes Science, and former director of 
the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Bethesda, Md.

"This should send a clear message that trying Ecstasy for even one night is 
like playing Russian roulette with your brain," Leshner said.

The study was funded by the U.S. Public Health Service.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens