Ecstasy damage may increase in women

Associated Press

LONDON — Ecstasy, the increasingly popular party drug, may cause more brain damage in women than in men, new research suggests.

A study published this week in The Lancet medical journal compared brain scans of people who had taken 50 or more Ecstasy tablets in their lifetimes with those of a group who had never taken the drug. The findings indicated women, but not men, lost a significant number of brain cells, even though the men had taken more Ecstasy over the years.

Fifty tablets is considered the threshold for increased risk of developing psychiatric problems. Experts said the preliminary findings raised an interesting possibility but that larger studies are needed to confirm the results.

Ecstasy, also known as XTC or E, affects serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates mood, emotion, sleep, appetite, memory and sexual behavior. The drug typically induces feelings of euphoria, increased energy and sexual arousal, and makes people feel a need to be touched or hugged.

The illegal drug, known scientifically as methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, is also said to suppress the need to eat, drink or sleep, making it possible to endure parties for two or three days.

However, in high doses it can cause a sharp increase in body temperature, leading to muscle breakdown, kidney and heart failure, and death.

Studies have shown it also kills brain cells that release serotonin. Scientists are now trying to find out how long the brain damage lasts and its long-term consequences. So far, studies have found that heavy users have persistent memory problems, and preliminary research suggests they also have trouble with verbal reasoning and sustaining attention.

Ecstasy gained popularity in the 1990s at all-night dance parties known as raves. Recent reports have shown that Ecstasy use is dramatically increasing in the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia.