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LINKS: ....Bird Flu Info ....Your Memory Enhancer ....Neurotech ....Success Tips ....Free EcstasyEcstasy (MDMA) is a synthetic drug with both hallucinogenic and amphetamine-like properties. It is chemically similar to two other synthetic drugs, MDA and methamphetamine, which damage brain cells. Effects Many problems users encounter with Ecstasy are similar to those found with the use of amphetamines and cocaine. They include increases in heart rate and blood pressure, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, chills, sweating, and such psychological problems as confusion, depression, sleep problems, craving, severe anxiety, paranoia, and psychotic episodes. 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. A study in Lancet (vol. 352, no. 9138) in October 1998 finds that Ecstasy destroys a structural component, the serotonin transporter, of serotonin neurons (brain cells) in humans. This work adds to earlier findings that Ecstasy can destroy up to 70 percent of serotonin neurons in laboratory monkeys. Scientists do not yet fully understand the role serotonin plays in governing our behavior. However, the researchers say that the potential consequences of this structural deficit in serotonin neurons in the human brain "may include depression, anxiety, memory disturbance, and other neuropsychiatric disorders" in which serotonin may play a role. Common Street Names Wonder drug, XTC. Legal Status MDMA is a Schedule I drug in the Controlled Substances Act. It is illegal to manufacture, sell or use this drug. HOME...... Brain Food LINKS: ....Medical Dictionary ....Stress Management ....Allergy Info |