Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
2001
G Vaiva, V Boss, D Bailly et al.
Over the last 10 years, Europe has witnessed the development of the ecstasy phenomenon; this term is used to describe several products sharing more or less the same effects. The most widely used and hence the most well known is 3,4 MDMA, but MDA, MDEA, MBDB and even 2CB or nexus are available. The psychopathological consequences of MDMA use in man are relatively poorly understood. The case...
Psychopharmacology
January 1, 2001
R J Verkes, H J Gijsman, M S Pieters et al.
(+/-) 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or "ecstasy") has been shown to cause long term damage to serotonergic cerebral neurons in animals. The neurotoxic effects in humans are less clear and little is known about the functional consequences, although some studies suggest memory impairment. Given the widespread use of MDMA, our lack of knowledge raises concerns. We investigated, in...
Synapse
2001
Francesco Fornai, Filippo Sean Giorgi, Marco Gesi et al.
54 citations
Previous studies reported that drugs acting as monoamine oxidase (MAO)-B inhibitors prevented biochemical effects induced by the neurotoxins N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP-4) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy"). In this study, we administered DSP-4 (50 mg/kg) or MDMA (50 mg/kg x 2, 2 h apart) to MAO-B deficient mice. Monoamine content in various brain...
Synapse
2001
Mahalakshmi Shankaran, Bryan K. Yamamoto, Gary A. Gudelsky
97 citations
MDMA-induced 5-HT neurotoxicity has been proposed to involve oxidative stress due to increased formation of hydroxyl radicals. Recently, MDMA-induced 5-HT neurotoxicity has been shown to be accompanied by a suppression of behavioral and neurochemical responses to a subsequent injection of MDMA. The intent of the present study was to examine whether suppression of the MDMA-induced formation of...
Pharmacology
2001
Elisabeth Ratzenboeck, Alois Saria, Norbert Kriechbaum et al.
97 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ‘ecstasy’) is one of the most prevalent illegal drugs of abuse among European adolescents, a population not generally experienced with respect to ‘hard’ drugs such as cocaine. We, therefore, determined the reinforcing effect of intravenously self-administered MDMA in a fixed ratio 1 time-out 150 s schedule of reinforcement in rats that were truly drug...
Annals of Internal Medicine
December 19, 2000
Steven J. Lester, Matthew J. Baggott, Susette Welm et al.
140 citations
BACKGROUND: The psychoactive stimulant 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also known as "ecstasy," is widely used in nonmedical settings. Little is known about its cardiovascular effects. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the acute cardiovascular effects of MDMA by using transthoracic two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. DESIGN: Four-session, ascending-dose, double-blind,...
Zeitschrift für Naturforschung B
December 1, 2000
Jochen Büchler, Cacilia Maichle-Mössmer, Karl‐artur Kovar
A synthetic route to the production of the pure enantiomers of the ecstasy-analogue N-Ethyl- 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDE) and its major metabolites MDA and HME is presented. The crystal and molecular structure of these compounds has been determined by X-ray crystallography. The hydrogen bonding in the crystal lattice is examined and significant differences were found by comparing (R)-...
Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health
December 2000
S P De Almeida, M T Silva
This review focuses on 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, an illegal drug known as "ecstasy." Ecstasy was introduced in Brazil in 1994. Data are lacking on the epidemiology and usage pattern of the drug in Brazil. However, there is evidence that until now the use of ecstasy has been limited to middle-class or upper-middle-class youth, so that most people, including health care professionals,...
Pediatric Emergency Care
October 1, 2000
Michael H Shannon
51 citations
Ecstasy (MDMA) is an amphetamine derivative of growing popularity. The drug produces a range of toxicities when taken either in standard doses or overdose. In overdose it has major toxicity, producing several different life-threatening manifestations. Hepatotoxicity and hyponatremia are common but poorly understood consequences of MDMA overdose. The drug can produce long-term, if not permanent,...
September 26, 2000
Stella Pereira De Almeida
1 citation
O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar os padrões de uso de "êxtase"na cidade de São Paulo.Os usuários foram recrutados através da técnica de amostragem snowball, também utilizada para o recrutamento do grupo controle, composto de indivíduos com estilo de vida semelhante aos primeiros mas que nunca haviam experimentado "êxtase"(não usuários).Usuários (52) e não usuários (52) foram...