Minerva
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2003
- Messages
- 41
Party drugs 'make people age faster'
June 24, 2003
PARTY drugs could be making people old before their time, a medical expert says.
Drugs could lead to dementia, Dr Chris Davis, the director of geriatric medicine at Brisbane's Prince Charles Hospital, said.
"Ageing will catch up with drug users at an earlier age," Dr Davis said today.
"An excess load on the metabolic activities destroy your brain cells and the brain is the one organ which we cannot dive into and fix."
Dr Davis said people needed to think twice before taking anything that altered their mental state.
Yesterday, the Federal Government was told partygoers who popped ecstasy pills could cause an avalanche of future Alzheimer's patients.
Trish Worth, parliamentary secretary to the Health Minister, said many revellers turning to party drugs, such as ecstasy, speed and ice, did not realise the long-term effects such drugs would have on their brain.
Dr Davis said today anything that destroyed or limited brain cells could cause dementia, which includes Alzheimer's disease.
Risky behaviours included drinking to excess, smoking cigarettes and marijuana, sniffing paint and petrol, as well as taking amphetamines.
Forgetfulness and poor judgment were among the first symptoms of Alzheimer's, but the partners, family members and carers of sufferers were often those who were hardest hit, Dr Davis said.
Women had a higher incidence of dementia than men and the incidence was rising exponentially as the population aged, he said.
"Dementia by the year 2017, which is not that far away, is predicted to be the major cause in morbidity (disease) in females of all ages," Dr Davis said.
AAP
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6646378%5E1702,00.html
What is with the recent 'findings' such as this that arnt backed up by any medical reports/research what so ever?
Seems more like opinions to me...