Ecstasy and the immune system.

[Carsick]

^^ sr, well, if you have the facilities to objectively test your immune response before and after taking MDMA, then obviously I will bow down to your knowledge.
I do sometimes get sick after a using MDMA, but I am always up all night and sometimes all weekend, so I'm not surprised. I get just as sick after drinking all weekend.
Anyway, I didn't say it doesn't affect the immune system, I just said there was no evidence. I'll amend that to say that the only evidence is anecdotal.

 

[GenericMind]

This is an intereting read. It's much more than anecdotal.

 

[indelibleface]

I dunno whether this was a government anti-warrior funded research or not but "acute stress"? Are they serious? Not to me it doesn't. The physiological changes elicited by MDMA closely resemble those induced by acute happiness in me.

If it caused me "acute stress" I wouldn't take it.

It's not talking about stress in a mental sense! It's talking about physiological stress.

Amphetamines send your body into overtime. Your metabolism runs more quickly. Your physical systems are pushing harder to keep up with the increased heartrate and faster metabolic pacing. This is what the article means by "stress", which MDMA clearly causes, as do all stimulants to some measurable degree.



Since we've merged topics, I'll repost what I said earlier:

MDMA does have some effects on the immune system -- they've done studies in humans as well as animals.

Research conducted over the last 5 years, in both laboratory animals and humans, has demonstrated that MDMA has immunosuppressive actions. Specifically, MDMA suppresses neutrophil phagocytosis, suppresses production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-1β, and increases production of the endogenous immunosuppressive cytokine (IL-10), thereby promoting an immunosuppressive cytokine phenotype. MDMA also suppresses circulating lymphocyte numbers, with CD4+ T cells being particularly affected, and alters T-cell function as indicated by reduced mitogen-stimulated T-cell proliferation, and a skewing of T-cell cytokine production in a T helper 2 (Th2) direction. For the most part, the aforementioned effects of MDMA are not the result of a direct action of the drug on immune cells, but rather caused by the release of endogenous immunomodulatory substances. Consequently, the physiological mechanisms that are thought to underlie the immunosuppressive effects of MDMA will be discussed. As many of the physiological changes elicited by MDMA closely resemble those induced by acute stress, it is suggested that exposure to MDMA could be regarded as a ‘chemical stressor’ on the immune system. Finally, the potential of MDMA-induced immunosuppression to translate into significant health risks for abusers of the drug will be discussed.

PubMed Article

Physiological stress does cause your immune system to be less effective. Because MDMA does cause some physiological stress, there is proof that MDMA does make your immune system less effective. We're not talking about AIDS status here, but you are probably more likely to contract a cold during MDMA usage than if you were sober.