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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.
link
7-29-03
Author: Mandy Heth
"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.
link
7-29-03
Author: Mandy Heth
