Posted by SLS on September 29, 2005, at 8:05:28
In reply to Re: Does Ectasy Cause Brain Damage and Depression?, posted by alohashirt on September 28, 2005, at 23:00:19
> The following link has some interesting data http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma_media1.shtml
That link has some interesting allusions to the existence of data, but no citations to the data itself regarding the neurotoxicity of MDMA. The article seems to me to be more a critique of existing critiques.
> What is clear is that MDMA is much safer than nicotine or acohol
I believe this is still a matter of opinion and open to investigation rather than being a self-evident, clear, and unambiguous conclusion.
MDMA is a dangerous drug in high dosages, and much more apt to cause fatalities when abused recklessly than nicotine or alcohol. It has a very long half-life and its pharmacokinetics are not linear due to its saturation of liver enzymes. When used in overdose, MDMA does cause the major organs to shut down. This is probably due to hyperthermia, hepatonecrosis, and rhabdomyolysis. Perhaps this is what Phillipa was referring to.
Regarding neurotoxicity, I haven't committed enough study time to refute the great bulk of studies that suggest that MDMA causes damage at serotonin synaptic terminals. At this time, however, I would worry that if methamphetamine (MA) produces neurotoxicity (I'm not convinced that it does), so might methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA).
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:560483
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050927/msgs/560904.html