New study examines the effect of ecstasy on the brain
April 18, 2016
Science Daily/University of Liverpool
The effect ecstasy has on different parts of the brain has been the focus of recent study. Researchers found that ecstasy users showed significant reductions in the way serotonin is transported in the brain. This can have a particular impact on regulating appropriate emotional reactions to situations.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool have conducted a study examining the effect ecstasy has on different parts of the brain.
Dr Carl Roberts and Dr Andrew Jones, from the University's Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, and Dr Cathy Montgomery from Liverpool John Moores University conducted an analysis of seven independent studies that used molecular imaging to examine the neuropsychological effect of ecstasy on people that use the drug regularly.
A number of studies have compared ecstasy users to control groups on various measures of neuropsychological function in order to determine whether ecstasy use results in lasting cognitive deficits. It is common, however, for ecstasy users to use other drugs alongside the substance, and therefore the Liverpool team aimed to discover whether this had any bearing on the impact of the drug.
The nerve pathway that is predominantly affected by ecstasy is called the serotonin pathway. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is synthesized, stored, and released by specific neurons in this pathway. It is involved in the regulation of several processes within the brain, including mood, emotions, aggression, sleep, appetite, anxiety, memory, and perceptions.
They found that ecstasy users showed significant reductions in the way serotonin is transported in the brain. This can have a particular impact on regulating appropriate emotional reactions to situations.
Dr Roberts, said: "The research team conducted the analysis on seven papers that fitted our inclusion criteria which provided us with data from 157 ecstasy users and 148 controls. 11 out of the 14 brain regions included in analysis showed serotonin transporter (SERT) reductions in ecstasy users compared to those who took other drugs.
"We conclude that, in line with animal data, the nerve fibres, or axons, furthest away from where serotonin neurons are produced (in the raphe nuclei) are most susceptible to the effects of MDMA. That is to say that these areas show the greatest changes following MDMA use.
"The clinical significance of these findings is speculative, however it is conceivable that the observed effects on serotonin neurons contribute to mood changes associated with ecstasy/MDMA use, as well as other psychobiological changes. Furthermore the observed effects on the serotonin system inferred from the current analysis, may underpin the cognitive deficits observed in ecstasy users.
"The study provides us with a platform for further research into the effect long term chronic ecstasy use can have on brain function."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160418095916.htm
Ecstasy use may lead to sleep apnea: Illegal 'club drug' poisons neurons involved in control of breathing during sleep
December 3, 2009
Science Daily/Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Repeated use of the drug popularly known as "ecstasy" significantly raises the risk of developing sleep apnea in otherwise healthy young adults with no other known risk factors for the sleep disturbance, a new study by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests. The finding is the latest highlighting the potential dangers of the amphetamine-style chemical, currently used illegally by millions of people in the United States.
The Johns Hopkins scientists note that sleep apnea itself can lead to an assortment of health problems, including a decline in cognitive function, an increased risk of diabetes, and an increased risk of death from heart disease.
"We know that abusing drugs can have numerous harmful effects. Our findings show yet another reason not to use ecstasy," according to lead researcher Una D. McCann, M.D.
Users claim the drug enhances intimacy, diminishes anxiety, and facilitates some forms of psychotherapy.
The team led by McCann, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, previously linked ecstasy, or methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), to a variety of neurological problems, including subtle cognitive deficits, impulsive behavior, and altered brain wave patterns during sleep. These problems are thought to arise from the drug's targeted toxic effects on neurons that produce the hormone serotonin. Studies in animals and people have shown that MDMA use shortens the filament-like ends of these nerve cells, preventing them from making normal connections with other neurons.
Because these cells regulate multiple aspects of sleep, McCann's team recruited 71 sleep study volunteers, all MDMA users, by advertising for "club drug users" in newspapers and fliers. All had typically used other recreational drugs as well. They also recruited 62 participants who had similar patterns of illegal drug use but had never taken MDMA. The MDMA users had taken the drug at least 25 times in the past, a number previously shown to have lasting effects on serotonin neurons. All of the volunteers were otherwise physically and mentally healthy and had abstained from drug use for at least two weeks prior to the study.
To evaluate the participants' breathing patterns during sleep, each volunteer spent a few nights at a sleep research center. From "lights out" at 11:00 p.m. to "lights on" at 7:00 a.m., study volunteers slept while hooked up to a variety of devices to measure breathing, including airflow monitors at their noses and mouths and bands around their chests and abdomens to measure expansion.
The researchers diagnosed sleep apnea by counting the rate of incidences of shallow or suppressed breathing, with mild apnea requiring five to 14 of these incidences, moderate apnea requiring 15 to 29, and severe apnea requiring 30 or more.
Results published in the Dec. 2, 2009, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, showed that rates of mild apnea were similar between the two groups, with 15 MDMA users and 13 other volunteers affected. However, while 8 MDMA users had the moderate form of apnea and 1 had the severe form, none of the other volunteers had either of these more serious forms. Results showed that the more participants had used MDMA in the past, the more severe their apnea was likely to be.
Known risk factors for sleep apnea include older age, obesity, and other medical conditions. However, McCann says, of the 24 ecstasy users who had sleep apnea, 22 were age 31 or younger, and none had any known serious medical problems.
"Our subjects were otherwise healthy young adults, so this is a very surprising finding," she says.
Though the researchers suspect that the cause for the MDMA users' sleep apnea centers on affected serotonin neurons, the exact mechanism remains a mystery. McCann explains that these neurons appear to help sense blood oxygen levels, control airway opening and generate breathing rhythms. Any of these pathways could be separately influenced by ecstasy use, she says. The researchers are currently working to tease apart which pathway is at play in MDMA users.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091202162332.htm
Ecstasy Use Depletes Brain's Serotonin Levels
July 28, 2000
Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology
ST. PAUL, MN -- Use of the recreational drug Ecstasy causes a severe reduction in the amount of serotonin in the brain, according to a study in the July 25 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study examined the brain of a 26-year-old man who had died of a drug overdose. He had been using Ecstasy for nine years, and in the last months of his life had also started using cocaine and heroin. His brain was compared to those from autopsies of 11 healthy people.
"The levels of serotonin and another chemical associated with serotonin were 50 to 80 percent lower in the brain of the Ecstasy user," said study author Stephen Kish, PhD, of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. "This is the first study to show that this drug can deplete the level of serotonin in humans."
Ecstasy, which is known chemically as methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, is structurally related to the hallucinogen mescaline and the stimulant amphetamine. MDMA causes neurons, or nerve cells, to release serotonin, a neurotransmitter that controls mood, pain perception, sleep, appetite and emotions. Ecstasy users report an increased awareness of emotion and a heightened sense of intimacy.
"Some of the behavioral effects of this drug are probably due to the massive release and depletion of serotonin," Kish said. "And the depression that people feel after going off the drug could also be explained by the depletion of serotonin in the brain."
The low levels of serotonin were found in the striatal area of the brain, which plays a key role in coordinating movement. In addition to serotonin, the level of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, also known as 5-HIAA and a major breakdown product of serotonin, was also low in the brain of the Ecstasy user.
"Of course, these findings should be confirmed through additional studies," Kish said. "Conclusions based on a single case can only be tentative."
Researchers confirmed the man's drug use through analysis of his brain, blood and hair. The analysis also confirmed that he had been using cocaine and heroin in the last months of his life. Kish said other research has shown that those drugs do not affect serotonin levels.
The man started using Ecstasy once a month at age 17. His usage increased, and in the last three years of his life he used it four to five nights a week at "rave" clubs, usually including a three-day weekend binge during which he took six to eight tablets. On the day after these binges, his friends said he appeared depressed and had slow speech, movement and reaction time.
Kish said research should also be done to determine whether increasing serotonin levels in people who are going off the drug would help eliminate some of the behavioral problems that occur during withdrawal.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 16,500 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research.
A neurologist is a medical doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit its Web site athttp://www.aan.com. For online neurological health and wellness information, visit NeuroVista at http://www.aan.com/neurovista.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/07/000727081324.htm