Untitled Document
Ecstasy
Side Effects
Brain imaging research in
humans indicates that Ecstasy causes injury to the brain, affecting neurons
that use the chemical serotonin to communicate with other neurons. The serotonin
system plays a direct role in regulating mood, aggression, sexual activity,
sleep, and sensitivity to pain. Many of the side effects users face with Ecstasy
use are similar to those found with the use of cocaine and amphetamines: Psychological
Ecstasy side effects, including confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug
craving, severe anxiety, and paranoia - during and sometimes weeks after taking
Ecstasy. Physical Ecstasy side effects such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth
clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movement, faintness, and chills
or sweating. Increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a special risk for
people with circulatory or heart disease.
Also, there is evidence
that people who develop a rash that looks like acne after using Ecstasy may
be risking severe side effects, including liver damage, if they continue to
use the drug. Research links Ecstasy use to long-term damage to those parts
of the brain critical to thought and memory. One study, in primates, showed
that exposure to Ecstasy for 4 days caused brain damage that was evident 6 to
7 years later.
MDA, the parent drug of MDMA
(Ecstasy), is an amphetamine-like drug that has also been abused and is similar
in chemical structure to Ecstasy. Research shows that MDA also destroys serotonin-producing
neurons in the brain. Ecstasy also is related in its structure and effects to
methamphetamine, which has been shown to cause degeneration of neurons containing
the neurotransmitter dopamine. Damage to these neurons is the underlying cause
of the motor disturbances seen in Parkinson's disease. Symptoms of this disease
begin with lack of coordination and tremors and can eventually result in a form
of paralysis.
The Short-Term Side Effects
of Ecstasy
While it is not as addictive
as heroin or cocaine, ecstasy can cause other adverse effects including nausea,
hallucinations, chills, sweating, increases in body temperature, tremors, involuntary
teeth clenching, muscle cramping, and blurred vision. Ecstasy users also report
after-effects of anxiety, paranoia, and depression.
Short-term side effects
of ecstasy
- Nausea
- Hallucinations
- Chills & sweating
- Increased body temp
- Tremors
- Muscle cramping
- Blurred vision
The effects start after about 20 minutes and can last for hours. These is a
'rush' feeling followed by a feeling of calm and a sense of well being to those
around, often with a heightened perception of color and sound. Some people actually
feel sick and experience a stiffening up of arms, legs and particularly the
jaw along with sensations of thirst, sleeplessness, depression and paranoia.
Gives a feeling of energy. Some mild hallucinogenic effects.
Ecstasy's chemical cousin,
MDA, destroys cells that produce serotonin in the brain. These cells play a
direct roll in regulating aggression, mood, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity
to pain. Methamphetamine, also similar to Ecstasy, damages brain cells that
produce dopamine. Scientists have now shown that ecstasy not only makes the
brain's nerve branches and endings degenerate, but also makes them "re-grow,
but abnormally - failing to reconnect with some brain areas and connecting elsewhere
with the wrong areas. These reconnections may be permanent, resulting in cognitive
impairments, changes in emotion, learning, memory, or hormone-like chemical
abnormalities.
Long-Term Side Effects of Ecstasy
The side effects of long-term
ecstasy use are just beginning to undergo scientific analysis. In 1998, the
National Institute of Mental Health conducted a study of a small group of habitual
ecstasy users who were abstaining from use. The study revealed that the abstinent
users suffered damage to the neurons in the brain that transmit serotonin, an
important biochemical involved in a variety of critical functions including
learning, sleep, and integration of emotion. The results of the study indicate
that recreational ecstasy users may be at risk of developing permanent brain
damage that may manifest itself in depression, anxiety, memory loss, and other
neuropsychotic disorders.
Ecstasy, MDMA information
