Ecstasy link to brain damage

Disturbing evidence is emerging that ecstasy can be linked to users suffering long-term brain damage. University of Adelaide researchers have found that ecstasy taken on a few occasions could cause severe damage to brain cells, with the potential to cause future memory loss or psychological problems.

Dr Rod Irvine, an internationally regarded ecstasy expert from the university`s department of clinical and experimental pharmacology, says that with seven per cent of 17-year-olds reporting use of ecstasy, major health problems could be expected in the future.

Dr Irvine`s research on brain damage caused by ecstasy shows that the drug seems to work mainly through its effect on one type of brain cell, and even through one molecule in those cells. It also seems likely that the way the body reacts chemically to ecstasy is important in producing adverse effects, as is the surrounding temperature, which can lead users to overheating.

Adelaide`s reputation as having the highest per capita death rate from ecstasy in Australia, and perhaps even the world, forms another component of Dr Irvine`s research. Dr Irvine is looking at the shorter-term consequences of "ecstasy overdoses" and has established that the high rate of death is due to a different strain of ecstasy appearing on the Adelaide market in the mid-1990s.

"Normal" ecstasy contains the pharmacological ingredient known as MDMA as its main ingredient, but the Adelaide strain often contained no MDMA but rather a more potent chemical known as PMA.

"We don`t know where the PMA came from, but we do know that it has been prevalent in Adelaide since the mid-1990s. Ecstasy users take note: PMA could be inside that pill you`re popping into your mouth!