Pharmacology & Therapeutics
April 2003
J C Cole, Harry Sumnall
Ecstasy is the second most widely abused illegal drug in Europe. Ecstasy is the colloquial name for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), but not all Ecstasy tablets contain MDMA. When taken in hot, crowded environments, Ecstasy/MDMA users have developed acute complications that have had fatal consequences. Epidemiological evidence indicates that adverse reactions to Ecstasy/MDMA...
Brain Research
March 25, 2003
Michael T. Williams, Laronda L. Morford, Sandra L. Wood et al.
66 citations
Previously, we have shown that rats administered MDMA from postnatal (P) days 11-20 had reductions in body weight during the period of treatment and as adults they had deficits in sequential and spatial learning and memory. In the present study, to control for weight reductions, we used litters with double the number of offspring to induce growth restriction comparable to that of standard size...
Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria
March 2003
Stella Pereira De Almeida, Maria Teresa Araujo Silva
As there are no studies about the use of ecstasy in Brazil, our aim was to identify the effects and patterns of use of this substance among users in the city of São Paulo. Subjects were recruited through the snowball technique. Fifty-two subjects of both genders who had been using ecstasy frequently and recently were interviewed. The instrument was a self-reported and anonymous questionnaire....
Addiction
February 20, 2003
Erkki Vuori, John A. Henry, Ilkka Ojanperä et al.
113 citations
ABSTRACT Four deaths following the ingestion of moclobemide and MDMA (‘ecstasy’) are described. The probable cause of death in each case was serotonin syndrome as a result of an interaction between the two drugs. As none of the victims had been prescribed moclobemide it seems that each had taken the drug to enhance the effects of MDMA, with fatal consequences. Warnings are needed against...
Journal of Health & Social Policy
2003
Lauren Dundes
Since dangerous additives to the drug ecstasy can cause potentially lethal hyperthermia, the organization DanceSafe tests ecstasy for such adulterants. This study of over 700 college students examined whether individuals will use or abstain from ecstasy regardless of DanceSafe's presence at raves or whether DanceSafe erodes a powerful deterrent (i.e., the fear of hazardous additives) which may...
Pharmacology
2003
Gudrun Wakonigg, Katja Sturm, Alois Saria et al.
Although ‘ecstasy’ (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) is, after marijuana, the second most prevalent illegal drug of abuse in European adolescents, animal experimental evidence of MDMA’s reinforcing effect has remained scarce, particularly in the rodent model, raising questions about the robustness of MDMA’s reinforcing effect under controlled laboratory conditions. In the present rat...
Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
2003
Konstantine K. Zakzanis, Donald A. Young, Zachariah Campbell
22 citations
Introduction: Quantitative evidence has begun to emerge where human studies suggest that repeated recreational use of +/- 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA or "Ecstasy") produces lasting impairments in explicit memory. The purpose of this investigation was to further explore the nature and pattern of component memory processes in abstinent MDMA users. Methods: Accordingly, 15 MDMA users...
Free Radical Research
2003
Jun Zhou, Peng Chen, Ye Zhou et al.
45 citations
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine abuse (MDMA abuse) may cause oxidative stress and potential free radical damage in the bodies of MDMA abusers (MA), and to explore the mechanisms by which MDMA abuse may be causing oxidative stress. METHODS: One hundred and twenty MA and 120 healthy volunteers (HV) were enrolled in a random control study design, in which the...
Addiction
December 1, 2002
Jon C. Cole, Mike Bailey, Harry Sumnall et al.
149 citations
ABSTRACT Aims To examine the variation in the content of ecstasy tablets seized in the north‐west of England during 2001 and to compare it to the UK average from 1991 to 2001. Measurements All tablets submitted to the Forensic Science Service in the north‐west of England during 2001 were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC‐DAD). The mean MDMA...
The FASEB Journal
December 1, 2002
Bruce Ladenheim, Michael Mccoy, Jean Lud Cadet et al.
34 citations
ABSTRACT 3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is a popular drug of abuse. MDMA is pharmacologically classified as an entactogen because of its affinities to classical hallucinogens and stimulants. Oral ingestion of a single dose of the drug is associated with euphoria, elevated self‐confidence, and heightened sensory awareness in humans. Evidence for neurotoxicity in the human...