Although 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) has been shown to damage brain serotonin (5-HT) neurons in animals and possibly humans, little is known about the long-term consequences of MDMA-induced 5-HT neurotoxic lesions on functions in which 5-HT is involved, such as cognitive function. Because 5-HT transporters play a key element in the regulation of synaptic 5-HT transmissio...

UNLABELLED This study assessed the effects of the serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) transporter inhibitor duloxetine on the effects of 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) in vitro and in 16 healthy subjects. The clinical study used a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, four-session, crossover design. In vitro, duloxetine blocked the release of both 5-HT and NE by...

The recreational drug 3,4-methylenedioxy-metamphetamine (MDMA; 'ecstasy') enhances serotonin and dopamine transmission. Repeated binge treatment with MDMA (5 mg/kg, 3 times daily, 3 h apart, once per week for 4 wk) was found to increase gene expression of S100B, a neurotrophic factor that modulates neuronal plasticity. Mutant mice overexpressing S100B were investigated to better understand how ...

UNLABELLED MDMA induces positive mood and increases impulse control during intoxication, but only a few studies on the neuropharmacological mechanisms underlying these processes have been conducted. It was hypothesized that pretreatment with 5-HT(1) and 5-HT(2) receptor blockers would prevent MDMA effects on mood and impulsivity. Subjects (N = 17) participated in a double-blind, placebo control...

Adverse 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) effects are usually ascribed to neurotransmitter release in the central nervous system. Since clinical features such as fasciculations, muscle cramps, rapidly progressing hyperthermia, hyperkalemia, and rhabdomyolysis point to the skeletal muscle as additional target, we studied the effects of MDMA on native and cultured skeletal muscle....

Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) has potent CNS stimulant effects. Besides the acute effects of MDMA, such as psychomotor activation, euphoria, decreased appetite, and hyperthermia, long-term damage of dopaminergic and serotonergic nerve terminals in multiple brain areas have also been reported. Although some studies have demonstrated that considerable amounts of MDMA reach the...

In two experiments, the effects of MDMA on the acquisition of lever-press responding of rats were examined under procedures in which water delivery was delayed by 0, 10, or 20 s relative to the response that produced it. In the first study, experimentally naive, water-deprived rats received an intraperitoneal injection of MDMA (0, 1.0, 3.2, or 5.6 mg/kg) prior to one 8-h experimental session. R...

amphetamine analogue that produces euphoric and stimulant effects and a feeling of closeness towards others. For more than a decade, MDMA (colloquially known as “Ecstasy” or “E”) has been widely used by young adults as a dance-party drug. The usual recreational oral dose is 1–2 tablets (each containing about 60–120 mg of MDMA) a standard oral dose of 0·75–4·00 mg per kg in 60–80 kg people. MDMA...

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is frequently consumed in association with alcohol. The effect of this combination in humans has not been previously investigated. Nine male healthy volunteers received single oral doses of 100 mg of MDMA plus 0.8 g/kg ethanol, 100 mg of MDMA, 0.8 g/kg of ethanol, and placebo in a double blind, double dummy, randomized crossover trial. Measurements inclu...

in this study, a simple and reliable method by gas chromatograph–mass spectrometry (gc–ms) was developed for the fast and regular identification of 3, 4-mdma impurities in ecstasy tablets. in so doing, 8 samples of impurities were extracted by diethyl ether under alkaline condition and then analyzed by gc–ms. the results revealed high mdma levels ranging from 37.6% to 57.7%. the gc-ms method sh...