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Study suggests little evidence Ecstasy causes brain damage

Were not talking about how its a killer drug, just merely pointing out that it can be a 'brain killer'. Especially compared to other drugs, as most other drugs aren't as potent neuro toxins like MDMA.
And you probably made some nice recovery, but your probably not at your full potential. If you abused the shit out of it, count on having some lasting damage. You probably don't notice it now, or have adjusted to the new you but have you ever thought the difference of yourself if you hadn't abused MDMA early on?
 
^^

"Potent neurotoxin" as compared to what tho? LSD is just about the most non-toxic drug mankind has ever found so anything compared to LSD is going to be a potent neurotoxin isn't it.
 
saturatedlies said:
Trying telling that to someone who has LSD induced HPPD.
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Although there is not a lot of official information on the subject, it is almost certain that HPPD has nothing to do with toxicity. So indeed, LSD is probably the drug that holds the world record for therapeutic index. :)
 
Although there is not a lot of official information on the subject, it is almost certain that HPPD has nothing to do with toxicity. So indeed, LSD is probably the drug that holds the world record for therapeutic index.
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You are right that toxicity has nothing to do with HPPD, however, one's quality of life after contracting HPPD is as bad, if not worse, then brain damage induced by toxicity if you understand what I'm saying..
 
There is a certain amount of neurotoxicity associated with free radical production when rolling and messing with your 5-ht receptors... which is why its important to take antioxidants like vitamin C and even stronger antioxidants to help mitigate the negative effects. It is also not beneficial to walk around with a negative serotonin balance, which is why supplements like 5-HTP and L-Tryptophan are so important. this company i found a site (<snip>) makes it really easy, and I've had some really good results.
 
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Bignatx said:
There is a certain amount of neurotoxicity associated with free radical production when rolling and messing with your 5-ht receptors... which is why its important to take antioxidants like vitamin C and even stronger antioxidants to help mitigate the negative effects. .
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Apparantly the whole "free radicals/take antioxidants" theory is a complete load of utter bullshit. Not a word of truth in it and never has been.
 
And what evidence do you have to base this off?
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I think what ismene is referring to is Ben Goldacre's article on how much of the science behind antioxidants and the free radical theory of ageing is made up by the pharmaceutical industry to scare people into buying medications they do not need. He is, after all, the professor for public health at Oxford University and is the Science writer for one of the most reputable broadsheets in Britain - The Guardian. He basically states that taking antioxidant supplements that supposedly limit or get rid of 'oxidative stress' may actually be worse then not taking them at all, since your body has it's own mechanisms to deal with stresses and will always achieve homoeostasis. Essentially, taking these antioxidants could interfere with your bodies natural ability to produce them - it was even proved in clinical trials that people given dummy sugar pills felt the same results as those who we're given the antioxidants. Profit much?
 
I do, however, firmly believe that MDMA is capable of brain damage and I don't think Ben Goldacre's work is refuting this. Merely that people can be lead to take these pills that do nothing for them, and there is way to many special interests behind toxicity studies to get any meaningful evidence from them.
 
This article is a complete joke. Really pisses me off whoever wrote it. Everyone reacts differently to drugs. On erowid it states that some people have even died off of just one pill because their brain was too sensitive to MDMA. Have the authors of this study ever heard of the term "e-tard"?
They should meet one and then try to say ecstasy causes no brain damage. I know my brain is pretty fucked up from it.
 
3rd_I_blind said:
Definitive evidence past MDMA-use increases tendency for agressive verbal behavior.
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It actually isn't a joke believe it or not what makes you less aggressive on E is the release of serotonin now if you fry or down-regulate your receptors from using too much then you end up with less serotonin which in turn does make your more aggressive.
 
Thizzle Mountain said:
This article is a complete joke. Really pisses me off whoever wrote it. Everyone reacts differently to drugs. On erowid it states that some people have even died off of just one pill because their brain was too sensitive to MDMA. Have the authors of this study ever heard of the term "e-tard"?
They should meet one and then try to say ecstasy causes no brain damage. I know my brain is pretty fucked up from it.
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It's good that you understand that it does in fact cause damage.
But unfortunately the authors of the article are stuck on the idea that the drug doesn't cause the damage, and that the irresponsibility of the user actually does. And there are plenty of users here that are stuck on that same thought..
It's a real shame that they are so ignorant.
 
Thizzle Mountain said:
It actually isn't a joke believe it or not what makes you less aggressive on E is the release of serotonin now if you fry or down-regulate your receptors from using too much then you end up with less serotonin which in turn does make your more aggressive.
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Sounds like a nice theory, but (fortunately??) it holds no truth. SSRIs work primarily by causing downregulation of 5-HT receptors (in the long term, that is), and they are actually prescribed to treat agression disorders. Besides that, I guess it is the excessive release of oxytocin that makes people on MDMA less prone to get agressive.

By they way, people aren't necessarily less agressive when on MDMA, they just feel very euphoric. Once the serotonin peak is over, it can actually be quite easy to get into a fight with people on MDMA. Since it has s very short half-life, oxytocin's effects can be disregarded after serotonin is depleted.
 
MasterSplinter said:
^^Cool story bro.
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Obvious 4chan references only hurt your credibility.

Shiznik has made many valid points and while he may have seemed aggressive I believe he really just wanted to make it clear that soooooo many of these posts are utter non-sense packaged as a professional opinion.

Also everyone saying "take rolls everyday for 2 weeks and tell us how you feel", why don't you drink heavily for two weeks or eat pure sugar or do a variety of other stupid activities that don't have anything to do with this discussion?

This is about cognitive impairment and this simply CANNOT be accurate due to the limitless variables.

On a personal note I believe that responsible MDMA use is fine just as responsible anything is fine due to the key word "responsible"
 
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"Ecstasy is Far From Harmless" Claims 40 scientists

In response to the study plublished in Addiction magazine by John Halpern of Harvard Medical school a few months ago claiming ecstasy is not associated with cognitive deficits, a letter signed by 40 scientists from around the world

"You recently reported: "There is no evidence that ecstasy causes 'brain damage'", in an article based on a new study by Halpern and colleagues (News). We were rather surprised, since in hundreds of our research publications we have presented reliable scientific evidence for cognitive and other deficits in ecstasy users. Furthermore, the Halpern study in Addiction does indicate significant cognitive impairments. Their ecstasy-user group was a highly selected sample, yet despite this careful pattern of drug usage, the users displayed several neurocognitive deficits. They occurred in psychological functions known to be sensitive to MDMA, such as memory and higher cognition, while depression was also higher in the heavier users.

Turning to the wider question of "brain damage", MDMA primarily affects the neurotransmitter serotonin. Several large studies have indicted "serotonergic neurotoxicity" in ecstasy users. The most recent showed significant reductions of Sert (the serotonin transporter) in every region of the cerebral cortex. The extent of these Sert reductions was associated with lifetime ecstasy use and the degree of neurocognitive deficit. Halpern and colleagues have shown that mild cognitive deficits can occur even in light and relatively careful ecstasy users."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2011/mar/27/letters-vocational-training-schools

For those of you who would like to check out the study,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/19/ecstasy-harm-brain-new-study

Stay safe everybody.
 
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