Ecstasy users more prone to disease: scientist

[Jdawg50]

Ecstasy users more prone to disease: scientist
Sep 07 1:43 PM US/Eastern


By Paul Hoskins

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Clubbers using ecstasy to keep them dancing through the night may damage their immune systems while those suffering from depression induced by the drug could be more difficult to treat, a neuroscientist said on Wednesday.

Developed as an appetite suppressant but now used at raves and night clubs to reduce inhibitions, ecstasy has been linked to psychiatric illnesses but Dr Thomas Connor of Trinity College Dublin believes it may also put physical health at risk.

"Ecstasy has potent immunosuppressant qualities which have the ability to increase an individual's susceptibility to disease," Connor told journalists at the British Association for the Advancement of Science annual festival in Dublin.

The environment in which ecstasy, also known as MDMA, is taken further increases the risk of contracting infectious diseases, he said.

"People ingest these drugs in crowded nightclubs full of young people with lots of bugs (germs) going around."

Connor said evidence so far suggested somebody taking two tablets during a night out would experience a weakening in the body's natural defenses lasting up to 48 hours. Scientists have yet to study the long-term impact on the immune system but the potential was there for damage in hard-core users, he added.

Connor pointed to anecdotal evidence suggesting a higher risk of illness such as web sites used by clubbers advising that they eat plenty of fruit and vegetables in order to boost their immune systems before taking the drug.

There had been instances of unusual illnesses in young users such as shingles of the eye and cases of meningitis, which causes inflammation of the membrane covering the brain and spinal cord, shortly after ingesting the drug, he said.

In the face of evidence that MDMA can lead to depression, anxiety and psychosis, Connor said there were growing signs the physical damage done by the drug reduced the effectiveness of anti-depressants such as Prozac.

"In ecstasy users the proteins that Prozac works on are greatly diminished in number," he said, cautioning however that results so far were based on studies on animals rather than clinical trials.

[chest6]

this is why i dont take ecstacy

[ginkobulloba]

To put that shit into your body is just plain stupid.

[CRUISECONTROL]

Dam I'm fuked

[symatech]

Back when i was younger and more foolish and doing lots of bad things I was constantly sick. You couldn't pay me to touch that shit ever again. I don't want to use it, see it, or be around anybody that does. nothing but trouble

[CRUISECONTROL]

Back when i was younger and more foolish and doing lots of bad things I was constantly sick. You couldn't pay me to touch that shit ever again. I don't want to use it, see it, or be around anybody that does. nothing but trouble

We all do stupid things when we are young and even sometimes when we are older but that which we learn from just makes us wiser

[symatech]

We all do stupid things when we are young and even sometimes when we are older but that which we learn from just makes us wiser

don't get me wrong I have no regrets about my past, but the only reason I don't have regrets is because I got out of it. I learned valuble life lessons from my experiences. I know guys and girls who were in my boat who didn't make it out, some are in jail, some are dead, some I just don't even talk to anymore. Point is, you have to stop that shit sometime because it won't get you anywhere you really want to go.

But yes like the dali llama says "whatever you loose don't loose the lesson"

[CRUISECONTROL]

don't get me wrong I have no regrets about my past, but the only reason I don't have regrets is because I got out of it. I learned valuble life lessons from my experiences. I know guys and girls who were in my boat who didn't make it out, some are in jail, some are dead, some I just don't even talk to anymore. Point is, you have to stop that shit sometime because it won't get you anywhere you really want to go.

But yes like the dali llama says "whatever you loose don't loose the lesson"

Yeah thats what I meant

[big an rich]

sounds scary.

[allsaucedup]

people still take ecstasy?

[symatech]

people still take ecstasy?

yeah, there is a big enough demand for it and it's easy enough to make. X and meth are two things that will probably never be phased out of popularity, both have been used for a very long time and are only getting more popular. Too bad too because they ruin a lot of lives.

[BG]

It fuc'd me up good, took years to recover, dont think I fully came back, still sometimes have depression problems

[Jakspro]

Booo Ecstacy... i saw someone who was allergic to whatever was in that damn pill... now she has brain damage and can't talk properly... Fck that sh*t... Guess God was watchin over me

[GREENMACHINE]

yeah, there is a big enough demand for it and it's easy enough to make. X and meth are two things that will probably never be phased out of popularity, both have been used for a very long time and are only getting more popular. Too bad too because they ruin a lot of lives.

I remember back in the day when I had to pay a fiver a pop for x. Now it's less than half of that. tHere is no demand here for it anymore. Coke is the new drug of choice.

Glad i have found something better than drugs, that scene just isn't me anymore.

[LoggedOut]

I remember back in the day when I had to pay a fiver a pop for x. Now it's less than half of that. tHere is no demand here for it anymore. Coke is the new drug of choice.

Glad i have found something better than drugs, that scene just isn't me anymore.

so now you COULD pay two dollars and fifty cents for a pill..... your "dealer" accepts quarters???

[GREENMACHINE]

so now you COULD pay two dollars and fifty cents for a pill..... your "dealer" accepts quarters???

Now they are 3 for 5euro. I don't use anymore, but I know they are dirt cheap cos I'm still offered them.

[JDawg1536]

Drugs are bad for you!?!?!?!??!?!?! WTF MAN!!!!!!!