A Boston University Medical School professor recently released the results of a 2005 study on MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy, asserting that the drug leaves users more susceptible to certain types of brain infections.
“The results show that MDMA produces a permeability of the blood-brain barrier,” said Bryan Yamamoto, who conducted the study in the BU Medical School’s Department of Pharmacology. “Since this barrier serves to limit large molecules such as viruses and toxins from entry into the brain, exposure to MDMA could increase the vulnerability of the brain.”
Clinically known as methylenedioxymethamphetamine, the drug is known as Beans, Candy, Disco Biscuits, Googs, M ‘ Ms, Scoobies, Smarties and Vitamin E, among other nicknames, on the street.
MDMA derives its most popular street name – Ecstasy – from its primary effect. The drug causes the secretion of large amounts of serotonin, dopamine or noradrenaline in the brain, which lead to feelings of openness, energy and euphoria.
College of Communication sophomore Amanda Gravel said she has never tried Ecstasy herself, but that she knows people who have. Although the drug is not as mainstream as cocaine or marijuana, she said Ecstasy is often used in club and rave circuits attended by college-age people.
“People always say it messes up your brain,” Gravel said, “but I don’t know specific consequences of using the drug.”
While other studies have shown that there are biochemical affects on the brain after using Ecstasy, Yamamoto said he focused his study on the physical changes that occur within the blood-brain barrier – the region that filters common infections present in a healthy bodies that would be risky if they accessed to the brain.
He said not many other studies have looked at the results of damaging the barrier or how these results can potentially be long-term – something Yamamoto said his study hoped to show.
College of General Studies sophomore Alejandro Moreno-Paz said his biggest concerns are drug interactions or if drugs were to be laced with chemicals.
“From what I hear, pure Ecstasy will not endanger you in any way,” he said. “But if it’s laced with something or if you are already drunk or something like that it might not be a smart decision.”
Although fatal cases of ecstasy overdose have been recorded, much of the danger associated with the drug comes from other, more dangerous chemicals, such as PMA, DXM or methamphetamine, either being added to the tablets or simply being sold as Ecstasy.
Despite rumors surrounding the effect of impure Ecstasy, Yamamoto’s study focused on the drug in its purest form, MDMA. It revealed that brain changes persist for a minimum of 10 weeks after the drug is taken, but he said it is unknown how long the changes last or if they are permanent.
Controversy has surrounded Ecstasy research for many years because scientists could not find long-term effects – prompting the drug’s use as treatment for some medical ailments. Because of its ability to create feelings of well-being, MDMA has been used in the United States as recently as 2001 to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
Gravel said although Yamamoto’s results would make her think twice before using the drug and new information concerning a drug generally curbs its use, information can also have the opposite effect.
“I think [the study] will make people talk about the drug more and probably make people consider using who otherwise wouldn’t think about using,” she said, “just because it’ll be a hot topic.”