Guest guest Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Ecstasy may damage the brain’s physical defences 16:53 14 November 2005 NewScientist.com news service Alison Motluk Related Articles Ecstasy may trigger gene-linked depression 12 March 2005 Psychedelic medicine: Mind bending, health giving 26 February 2005 The intoxication instinct 13 November 2004 Search New Scientist Contact us Web Links Yamamoto, Boston University Jerrold Meyer, University of Massachusetts MDMA, US National Institute on Drug Abuse The drug ecstasy reduces the brain’s defences, reveals a new study of rats, leaving it vulnerable to invasion by viruses and other pathogens. The researchers behind the study warn of "clinical considerations which may apply to the treatment of people who abuse MDMA". For example, anaesthetics could find it easier to penetrate the brain, "greatly increasing the risk of unwanted sedation". And they say infections could cause permanent damage to brain cells or alter the ability of the brain to function normally. The brain is protected by a fence of tightly packed cells, called the blood-brain barrier. This prevents all but the smallest molecules from passing through. But the new experiments show that MDMA – the chemical name for ecstasy, or “e†– somehow forces open that barrier, allowing larger molecules access to the brain. Yamamoto at Boston University, US, and colleagues gave rats four doses of MDMA over 8 hours. “We were trying to approximate a human dosaging pattern,†says Yamamoto. The scientists also injected a blue dye, made of molecules too large to get into the rats' brains under normal circumstances. One day later, the researchers found the dye had made its way into parts of the brain, such as the caudate and the hippocampus. Ten weeks later, despite no further doses of MDMA being given, new injections of dye were still passing through the blood brain barrier. Ten weeks in rats could be considered the equivalent of five to seven years in humans. “It does seem to be a very protracted opening,†says Yamamoto. But, as yet, he is unable to say for sure whether the breach is permanent. Prior protection Other new research on MDMA has investigated "binges" of ecstasy-taking in rats. Scientists found that rats exposed to many single doses of ecstasy as adolescents are protected from much of the harm caused by e-binges as adults. Jerrold Meyer at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, US, and colleagues gave pre-pubescent rats a dose of ecstasy, then repeated the dose every five days, until young adulthood – a total of six doses. After a period to allow the rats to clear the drug from their bodies, they received up to four times the previous dose spread only over a few hours. The researchers monitored such things as body temperature, body weight and behaviour. A week later, their brains were studied for signs of neurotoxicity. Typically after a big ecstasy binge, animals suffer hyperthermia, fatigue and lethargy and sustain damage to serotonin axons – the long fibres extending from serotonin-containing neurons. All these features were observed in control rats. But the rats that had been pre-exposed to the drug were spared these symptoms, including damage to their serotonin system. “Exposure does have this powerful effect to protect animals,†says Meyer. Therapeutic use Whether any prior exposure, or only exposure during adolescence, can protect humans this way is not yet clear. “My hunch is that it might be specific to the adolescent period,†Mayer says. But the mechanism remains a mystery. Among the possibilities is that the pre-exposed animals may be metabolising the drug more quickly, he says, or they may be ratcheting up antioxidant activity in their bodies, or they may be modifying their serotonin receptors. Not all research on MDMA is into its negative effects. Linley at Florida Atlantic University in Port St Lucie points out that the drug is now being investigated for clinical use in diseases as wide-ranging as schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal cancer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Tom, I agree after a fashion. This is a case of studying a drug that has no redeeming value for humanity. Giving it to rats makes little sense in this case. However, there are great political and ethical problems about using humans for these studies. Granted lots of teenagers and college kids are using this stuff so there should be a wide sample to study. I really do think they should study the humans in this case and see just what the drug is doing to them. But this is where the ethical dilema comes in. How to test the theory that Ecstasy makes the brain more vulnerable to attack? If the subject willingly takes the drug at parties that's one thing, but it is another to have scientists infect them with diseases to see if they affect them more readily than others (which would require a non-ecstasy using control set of people also to be exposed to the diseases). Using drug abusers to study the effects of their drugs of choice to learn how it affects them and how to break them of their addiction doesn't bother me too much. But exposing them to diseases and of course exposing the non-drug using controls to disease as well, is a step too far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 This is off the subject, but is there really even a purpose for this study, and why should rats need to be used? It's pretty obvious that if you put anything into your system that alters your state of mind, or screws up your consciousness, it isn't good for you. This study will not make a difference to anyone who uses extasy and so far it doesn't appear to point to any " cure " for this drug usage. I suppose I sometimes get impatient with studies like these. If people elect to use drugs and screw themselves up, then kicking the habot and dealing with the ramifications ought to be their own problem. Money spent on this sort of research would be better spent doing cancer research or trying to invite the longer lasting light bulb. (Perhaps I am just in a sour mood or something. I will go home and take my St. 's Wort, which extensive research has proven ineffective many times over, even though word of mouth and my own personal experience with St. 's has shown that it goes a long way toward clearing up depression and anxiety.) Tom Administrator But the rats that had been pre-exposed to the drug were spared these symptoms, including damage to their serotonin system. Exposure does have this powerful effect to protect animals,says Meyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Yeah, I wouldn't put all your stock in scientific studies. (politics & games, errors, wrong conclusions, etc. touch the 'scientific arena' of this world as well--it's not beyond reproach, as some would want to believe). People pooh-pooh anecdotal evidence but sometimes it's all you have (especially when money is not distributed for studies), or in some cases more indicative of efficacy. (try to say that 5 times fast.) > > But the rats that had been pre-exposed to the drug were spared these > symptoms, including damage to their serotonin system. Exposure does > have this powerful effect to protect animals,says Meyer. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 >From: VISIGOTH@... > > The drug ecstasy reduces the brain’s defences, reveals a new study of rats, leaving it vulnerable to invasion by viruses and other pathogens. Yes, but the Internet and AM radio are probably far worse in their brain warping effects. I guess I can include some of what passes for tee vee programming in the list. - s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 In a message dated 11/15/2005 12:54:06 PM Eastern Standard Time, julie.stevenson16@... writes: Is a rat's brain similar to a humans? Most brains are rather similiar. Nature doesn't throw away success. This is why so most mammals have identical body structures even if they are arranged a little differently. For example: the horse's forelegs are identical to human arms except that horses have adapted to bear a heavier weight on their fingertips. The bone and muscle structures are the same, just adapted to the "horse" shape. Humans still have all the previous levels of brain that have come before. There is the brain stem that controls the autonomous functions like heart beat, the intestines and such, probably more that we don't know about too. We've also got the "reptile" brain and the more developed "mammal" brain on top of that. On top of all that is the "human" part of the brain. On the very tip of the human part is a small section that is devoted to thinking ahead, planning and carrying out those plans. These features were all see on brain casts of the "Hobbits" recently found in Indonesia. That thinking part was actually quite pronounce on the small brains, which is probably how they acting roughly human in spite of being so small with such small brains. It would be interesting to see what regular humans would be like if that portion was as large compared to the rest of the brain as it was in the Hobbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 In a message dated 11/15/2005 1:00:11 PM Eastern Standard Time, julie.stevenson16@... writes: Mmmmmmmm I hadn't read this post before I posted my response to the original - I think I should check all replies first before I respond, but I am playing catch up again :-) No problem . That's just like the rest of us. I read most of the post when they come up in the emails and sometimes that isn't even in the right order within the topic. I just reply to them as they come up and make corrections later if I feel the need, or just hold my peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 " Other new research on MDMA has investigated " binges " of ecstasy- taking in rats. " So rats are prone to " binges " on ecstacy are they? Do they also go night clubbing? Why cannot they test the affects of this on humans as there are plenty of people out there taking this stuff - why not research on humans - I think some studies have been done on people previously. Is a rat's brain similar to a humans? > > > > > Ecstasy may damage the brain’s physical defences > * 16:53 14 November 2005 > * NewScientist.com news service > * Alison Motluk > > > > Related Articles > * _Ecstasy may trigger gene-linked depression_ > (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18524904.000) > * 12 March 2005 > * _Psychedelic medicine: Mind bending, health giving_ > (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18524881.400) > * 26 February 2005 > * _The intoxication instinct_ > (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18424735.700) > * 13 November 2004 > * _Search New Scientist_ > (http://www.newscientist.com/search.ns;jsessionid=GKHENEMKPNNM) > * _Contact us_ > (http://www.newscientist.com/contact.ns;jsessionid=GKHENEMKPNNM? recipient=dn) > > > Web Links > * _ Yamamoto, Boston University_ > (http://www.bumc.bu.edu/Dept/Content.aspx? DepartmentID=65 & PageID=7779) > * _Jerrold Meyer, University of Massachusetts_ > (http://www.umass.edu/neuro/faculty/files/meyer.html) > * _MDMA, US National Institute on Drug Abuse_ > (http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/ecstasy.html) > > > The drug ecstasy reduces the brain’s defences, reveals a new study of rats, > leaving it vulnerable to invasion by viruses and other pathogens. > The researchers behind the study warn of " clinical considerations which may > apply to the treatment of people who abuse MDMA " . For example, anaesthetics > could find it easier to penetrate the brain, " greatly increasing the risk of > unwanted sedation " . And they say infections could cause permanent damage to > brain cells or alter the ability of the brain to function normally. > The brain is protected by a fence of tightly packed cells, called the > blood-brain barrier. This prevents all but the smallest molecules from passing > through. But the new experiments show that MDMA †" the chemical name for ecstasy, > or “e††" somehow forces open that barrier, allowing larger molecules access > to the brain. > Yamamoto at Boston University, US, and colleagues gave rats four doses > of MDMA over 8 hours. “We were trying to approximate a human dosaging pattern, > †says Yamamoto. The scientists also injected a blue dye, made of molecules > too large to get into the rats' brains under normal circumstances. > One day later, the researchers found the dye had made its way into parts of > the brain, such as the caudate and the hippocampus. Ten weeks later, despite > no further doses of MDMA being given, new injections of dye were still passing > through the blood brain barrier. > Ten weeks in rats could be considered the equivalent of five to seven years > in humans. “It does seem to be a very protracted opening,†says Yamamoto. > But, as yet, he is unable to say for sure whether the breach is permanent. > Prior protection > Other new research on MDMA has investigated " binges " of ecstasy- taking in > rats. Scientists found that rats exposed to many single doses of ecstasy as > adolescents are protected from much of the harm caused by e-binges as adults. > Jerrold Meyer at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, US, and > colleagues gave pre-pubescent rats a dose of ecstasy, then repeated the dose every > five days, until young adulthood †" a total of six doses. > After a period to allow the rats to clear the drug from their bodies, they > received up to four times the previous dose spread only over a few hours. The > researchers monitored such things as body temperature, body weight and > behaviour. A week later, their brains were studied for signs of neurotoxicity. > Typically after a big ecstasy binge, animals suffer hyperthermia, fatigue and > lethargy and sustain damage to serotonin axons †" the long fibres extending > from serotonin-containing neurons. All these features were observed in control > rats. > But the rats that had been pre-exposed to the drug were spared these > symptoms, including damage to their serotonin system. “Exposure does have this > powerful effect to protect animals,†says Meyer. > Therapeutic use > Whether any prior exposure, or only exposure during adolescence, can protect > humans this way is not yet clear. “My hunch is that it might be specific to > the adolescent period,†Mayer says. > But the mechanism remains a mystery. Among the possibilities is that the > pre-exposed animals may be metabolising the drug more quickly, he says, or they > may be ratcheting up antioxidant activity in their bodies, or they may be > modifying their serotonin receptors. > Not all research on MDMA is into its negative effects. Linley at > Florida Atlantic University in Port St Lucie points out that the drug is now > being investigated for clinical use in diseases as wide-ranging as > schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal cancer. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 Mmmmmmmm I hadn't read this post before I posted my response to the original - I think I should check all replies first before I respond, but I am playing catch up again :-) > > Tom, > > I agree after a fashion. This is a case of studying a drug that has no > redeeming value for humanity. Giving it to rats makes little sense in this case. > However, there are great political and ethical problems about using humans for > these studies. Granted lots of teenagers and college kids are using this > stuff so there should be a wide sample to study. > > I really do think they should study the humans in this case and see just > what the drug is doing to them. But this is where the ethical dilema comes in. > How to test the theory that Ecstasy makes the brain more vulnerable to attack? > If the subject willingly takes the drug at parties that's one thing, but it > is another to have scientists infect them with diseases to see if they affect > them more readily than others (which would require a non-ecstasy using > control set of people also to be exposed to the diseases). > > Using drug abusers to study the effects of their drugs of choice to learn > how it affects them and how to break them of their addiction doesn't bother me > too much. But exposing them to diseases and of course exposing the non-drug > using controls to disease as well, is a step too far. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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