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Herald Sun article

Bent

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 4, 2000
Messages
700
Anyone read the small article on todays (26/7) Melbourne Herald Sun?
A general gist of it...(unfortunately there does not seem to be a link on their site).
Apparently "scientists" are now claiming that one pill can alter brain chemistry for life, with the results likened to "permanent jet lag" - mood swings, suicidal depression and memory loss.
A 26 year old regular user had his brain examined upon ODing (after 9 years of use).
Dr. George Ricaurte of Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore USA said a single pill could cause brain damage "The margin between safe use and neurotoxic effects on the brain is very tight, if it exists at all".
Now, I'm not going to deny that what we take does something to our brain chemisty, but the story contradicts itself by saying "one pill" will alter you for life, based on the brain of a heavy user of 9 years! And while they haven't quote the "scientists" that examined the guys head, they've quoted someone completely differenct, in a different country!
I just thought, should this have been in Media & Busts? - Sorry!
 
You gotta love the Herald Sun Bent. All they need is someone with a "science" correspondence diploma from the Botswana West TAFE to say that ecstasy kills us and is devil spawn for them to publish it.The paper is a disgrace.
deep breath, deep breath, settle down Barney
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bush and doof go together like horse and hoof
 
I know people that have never even seen bickie and have worse mood swings than me.
 
here's the article. if you ever can't find an international story thats been reprinted in the sun (trust me they didnt write it themselves) then just look thru any other newspapers site till you find it. they all come from the same wire services.
its really not that bad if you ignore the obvious soundbites (which of course the average herald sun reader wont):
The Agony of Ecstasy
by Mary Ann Swissler
3:00 a.m. Jul. 26, 2000 PDT
What goes up, must come down, and when you're talking about the mood-altering drug ecstasy, the "down" can last a lifetime.
Dr. Steven Kish of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto compared the brain tissue of a 26-year-old chronic ecstasy user who'd overdosed with 11 non-drug users. Roughly 50 to 80 percent of the neurotransmitter known as serotonin in the overdose victim's brain was depleted, Kish found. No noticeable decreases were found in the control group.
This is the first study to show that this drug can deplete the level of serotonin in humans," Kish said. About 15 human studies have found that cognition was reduced with use of the drug, although serotonin was not one of the substances mentioned, he said.
Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood, usually for the better, and controlling some thought processes.
Ecstasy is considered an "empathic" drug, with users reporting a heightened sense of euphoria and desire to socialize. But when the serotonin runs out, depression sets in. Cognition, thought processes including memory, pain perception, sleep, and appetite all are affected.
The medical word for ecstasy, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, is structurally related to the hallucinogen mescaline and the stimulant amphetamine. Antidepressants act on the serotonin system to elevate lower amounts of serotonin in depressed people.
"This probably explains why ecstasy users are depressed or unhappy the day after they use it," Kish said.
In Kish's study, the serotonin depletion was sometimes reversible, but sometimes permanent damage was observed, depending on which area of the brain was being scrutinized. He cautioned that more research is needed, since "we can make no statement on brain damage."
The study is significant because it conclusively points to consequences in the human brain -– a toll that drug educators can use when speaking at schools, said researcher Karen Borell of John Hopkins University. "I think it holds promise for prevention. It seems to be the No. 1 drug of choice, especially among the younger population," she said.
As Kish stated in the latest issue of Neurology, "We recognize that conclusions based on a single case can only be tentative. However, our limited data suggest that depletion of serotonin might occur in the brain of some users of the drug and therefore therapeutic efforts to normalize levels of the neurotransmitter might address some of the behavioral problems occurring during drug withdrawal."
The mother of Joe Stephens, the man whose brain was autopsied for Kish's study, said the problem is, "The kids will admit that after a weekend of using ecstasy they are depressed but they don't put it together with the ecstasy."
Tinker Cooper, of Orlando, Florida found the body of her son in 1996. She now belongs to the group Families Against Drugs.
"Not only does it damage cells, it produces functional consequences, including a decline in your memory performance," Borell said, adding that psychiatric conditions such as depression and sleep disturbances almost always set in.
Borell calls ecstasy the "up-and-coming drug" worldwide: 2.3 percent of college students and 4.3 percent of people ages 19 to 28 reported using it at least once in the last year. Overall, 3.4 million Americans at least 12 years old had used ecstasy at least once during their lifetime, according to the 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse survey.
In Toronto, an average of one ecstasy-related death is now reported per month, Kish said. This is up from zero deaths per month in 1997. Forty percent of the deaths in Toronto result from use at rave clubs. "We have a terrible problem with ecstasy use here," he said.
Emergency room visits and mortality rates are hard to measure, Borell said. "Things that go along with taking the drug, not the drug itself, causes the overdose. Dehydration seems to be the No. 1 complication, at least at rave clubs."
Cooper stressed that the answer is not shutting down all raves. "It's a double-edged sword. Cops keep trying to close them down but the clubs will just go underground, they'll go in the woods." At least the clubs keep users visible in the event of an overdose, she said.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,37760,00.html
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"i think i'll stick to drugs to get me thru the long, dark night of late-capitalism..."
Irvine Welsh
[This message has been edited by johnboy (edited 26 July 2000).]
 
That was a far more in-depth article than the quick brush over the Herald-Sun did! At least they actually quoted someone linked to the original article.
I suppose there really isn't much truth in journalism - and it really makes me realise how right my old English teacher was all those years ago - you really can make a lie out of the truth.
 
here's another article from the same source material... a few different bits of info in it
Popular Drug Ecstasy Not Harmless Like Many Users Think
Effects of the Drug Just Now Being Understood
By Elaine Zablocki
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Dr. Jacqueline Brooks
July 24, 2000 -- Distracted by the seemingly safe mellow high, users of the drug ecstasy don't realize its profoundly harmful long-term effects on the brain, say researchers who've been studying the drug's effects.
Ecstasy has become a popular drug among young people, often used at all-night parties called raves. It produces mild feelings of well-being and is reported to make users more sociable, one researcher says.
Current studies suggest the drug has its effect through a massive release of the brain chemical serotonin, which can affect -- among other things -- mood, behavior, memory, learning, appetite, sleep, temperature regulation, and heart function. This becomes a problem because, in essence, the serotonin is then "used up" and is unavailable to perform its day-to-day functions. Although the body tries to replace the chemical, it has a hard time catching up.
"Consumers are not aware that ecstasy risks include death from drug overdose and long-term damage to brain cells," says Stephen J. Kish, PhD. "Here in Toronto, we now have about one ecstasy-related death a month. Three years ago, we had none. Young users do not realize the danger. The word is not getting out to them." Kish is head of the human neurochemical pathology laboratory at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and associate professor of pharmacology and psychiatry at the University of Toronto School of Medicine in Canada.
Since ecstasy is an illegal drug, data on its use is not easy to come by, but available information suggests use is increasing. In 1998, 1.6% of those aged 12 to 17 used ecstasy, up from 1.3% in 1997, says H. Westley Clark MD, JD, MPH. About 5% of those aged 18 to 25 used ecstasy in 1998, up from 4.6% in 1997. Clark is the director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in Bethesda, Md.
A great deal of animal research has shown that when animals are given ecstasy, the serotonin levels in their brains drops and they develop and nerve damage. "This appears to be a long-term problem that can last over a year," says Jim Winslow, PhD. He says that in the animal research to date, they have not been able to determine how long it takes to recover from the effects of ecstasy. Winslow is associate research professor at the Yerkes regional primate research center at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
In the past, some observers have argued drug levels used in animal studies were so high that similar effects wouldn't be found in humans. Now a study by Kish, published in the most recent issue of the journal Neurology, reports the same effects in a person who used ecstasy over a nine-year period, and died at age 26. He started out using the drug once a month, but from age 23 onward, used it four or five nights a week. An autopsy of his brain found serotonin levels 50 to 80% lower than in people who had not used ecstasy. "That is a striking reduction," Kish says.
If people who use ecstasy experience a massive release of serotonin, followed by substantially lower serotonin levels long-term, that would explain both the feelings of well-being they experience while using the drug, and the long-term depression, anxiety, and other symptoms they experience once it wears off.
Recent studies of people who use ecstasy also suggest its use leads to the loss of reasoning ability and memory. In addition to lowering serotonin levels, it appears to permanently damage the brain cells that produce and use serotonin.
"There is now a large body of data, mostly in animals but also in humans, indicating [ecstasy] is highly toxic to brain serotonin cells," says George A. Ricaurte, MD, PhD. "The study by Kish is very important because it shows these changes in brain cells occurring at dosage levels actually used by humans." Ricaurte is associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
The emerging data on the dangers of ecstasy mean parents really need to open a discussion about drugs with their children, Clark says. Too often, parents assume drug problems only apply to other people's children. "You need to talk with them about drugs and alcohol," Clark says. "While most don't use drugs, a substantial number do."
© 2000 Healtheon/WebMD. All rights reserved.
We subscribe to the HONcode principles of the Health On the Net Foundation
oh Dr Ricaurte has been funded by the government for the last ten years to find something evil about MDMA... he still hasn't found much.
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"i think i'll stick to drugs to get me thru the long, dark night of late-capitalism..."
Irvine Welsh
 
What sort of - (excuse the French, and apologies to the deceased) - fuckwit - would use biccies "four to five times a week"? Didn't they notice a lack of 'magic'? My god, didn't they notice a lack of 'cash'? How anyone could abuse MDMA in this way is slightly beyond me.
 
Anyone notice in the article that this guy died of an OD - ie, he was either on a LOT of other stuff, or he died while up.
Pity the article writer didn't notice/mention that that would be the cause of him not having any Seratonine.
Over here (nz) we have had 2 "E deaths", much to the joy of our abysmally poor quality daily papers (NZ Herald especially). One was the usual water OD (most likely this person was on DXM with a little E), and the other was definatly poly-drug use (E, Speed, alc etc). While its sad, its not a bad record, considering how much E gets munched every weekend....
smile.gif

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Better living thru chemistry.
 
The most annoying thing about these sort of articles (apart from that ever-repeating title) is that they all make out that serotonin disappears and never comes back.
They never seem to differentiate between classic (temporary) comedown symptoms and permanent serotonin receptor damage
frown.gif

I know it seems like the general public will believe anything the media says, but I read an article in a pharmacy journal at work that suggests otherwise. They surveyed people about who they trust to give information/advice...pharmacists ranked quite high, as did doctors, but the media ranked as one of the lowest trusted sources of information
smile.gif
 
my only complaint is that they didn't have somewhere in the title or the opening paragraph 'KILLER DESIGNER DRUG ECSTACY'.
that's what concerned mum's and dad's want to see.
[This message has been edited by pink (edited 31 July 2000).]
 
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