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09-27-2002, 12:47 PM
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Use of Ecstacy may increase risk for Parkinson's disease
LOS ANGELES — 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 reported yesterday.
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 percent to 80 percent 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 Ricaurte, a study co-author 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 party-goers sometimes take three or four doses over several hours.
Previous animal studies had shown that the drug damages as much as 30 percent to 40 percent 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, researchers said.
Parkinson's symptoms usually don't emerge until individuals lose more than 80 percent to 90 percent 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 Grob, director of the division of child and adolescent psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif. 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 normally is used, he said.
source: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=medical27&date=20020927&query=ecstasy+parkinson%27s
Use of Ecstacy may increase risk for Parkinson's disease
LOS ANGELES — 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 reported yesterday.
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 percent to 80 percent 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 Ricaurte, a study co-author 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 party-goers sometimes take three or four doses over several hours.
Previous animal studies had shown that the drug damages as much as 30 percent to 40 percent 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, researchers said.
Parkinson's symptoms usually don't emerge until individuals lose more than 80 percent to 90 percent 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 Grob, director of the division of child and adolescent psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif. 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 normally is used, he said.
source: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=medical27&date=20020927&query=ecstasy+parkinson%27s