The abused drug MDMA (Ecstasy) induces programmed death of human serotonergic cells
The FASEB Journal February 1, 1997 Rabi Simantov, M Tauber 89 citations
The widely abused amphetamine analog 3,4‐methylenecdioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, also called “ecstasy”) induces hallucination and psychostimulation, as well as long‐term neuropsychiatric behaviors such as panic and psychosis. In rodents and monkeys, MDMA is cytotoxic to serotonergic neurons, but this is less clear with humans. Herein, MDMA was cytotoxic to human serotonergic JAR cells; it altered...