Anxiety/depression consequence of Ecstasy

[ruinedbrain]

<CENTER>DAILY MAIL



Ecstasy-users 'risk disease'



21:44pm 7th September 2005</CENTER>

Taking Ecstasy can make users susceptible to infectious diseases and can reduce the effectiveness of drugs such as Prozac in patients suffering from depression, scientists have said.

Dr Thomas Connor, of Trinity College Dublin, said in addition to common infections, doctors treating users of the club drug have reported rare conditions which would normally only be seen in patients with Aids or other immune deficiencies.

One man in his 20s developed shingles in the eye, an extremely rare condition which is never normally seen in young people and the only explanation the doctor could find was that the individual was a regular Ecstasy user, Dr Connor said.

In another incident patients developed meningicoccal meningitis very soon using after using the drug.

Speaking at the BA Festival of Science in Dublin, Dr Connor said studies have shown that in a controlled environment even a single Ecstasy tablet could depress the immune system for up to 24 hours.

If a user took a second dose within six hours that suppression could last for 48 hours.

Dr Connor added that many Ecstasy users took far more than one or two pills and were in tightly-packed nightclubs where disease could spread easily.

"In a survey of 240 Ecstasy users there was a highly significant correlation between the extent of Ecstasy use and self-reported incidents of infection," he said.

Dr Connor said the work on the drug's effect on the immune system was in its early stages, and the long-term effects were not yet clear.

Another consequence of using Ecstasy is the development of anxiety and depression, as the drug has a long term toxic effect on serotonin receptors in the brain.



Source Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1797


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