3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "Ecstasy") is a potent neurotoxin which preferentially produces 5-HT nerve terminal degeneration in the CNS in both rodents and primates. Timely research on the behavioral effects of acute and long term treatment of MDMA is critical due to the neuropathological effects of MDMA and its abuse liability. Presently, there are no published reports that have s...

BACKGROUND Understanding the excretion of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and metabolites in sweat is vital for interpretation of sweat tests in drug treatment, criminal justice, and workplace programs. METHODS Placebo, low (1.0 mg/kg), and high (1.6 mg/kg) doses of oral MDMA were given double-blind in random order to healthy volunteers (n = 15) with histories of MDMA use. Participan...

Clomethiazole is an effective neuroprotective agent against the degeneration of 5-HT neurones that follows administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or 'ecstasy'). Since there is good evidence that free radical formation resulting from auto-oxidation of MDMA metabolites is responsible for the degeneration we have examined whether clomethiazole is a free radical scavenger. MDMA (...

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly referred to as Ecstasy, is a widely abused, psychoactive recreational drug, which induces short- and long-term neuropsychiatric behaviors. This drug is neurotoxic to serotonergic neurons in vivo, and induces programmed cell death in cultured human serotonergic cells and rat neocortical neurons. Over the years it has been shown that MDMA alters ...

INTRODUCTION Exposure to 3, 4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) could lead to serotonergic system toxicity in the brain. This system is responsible for learning and memory functions. Studies show that MDMA causes memory impairment dose-dependently and acutely. The present study was designed to evaluate the chronic and acute effects of MDMD on spatial memory and acquisition of passive avoida...

Although numerous studies investigated the mechanisms underlying 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-induced neurotoxicity, little is known about its long-term functional consequences on 5-HT neurotransmission in mice. This led us to evaluate the delayed effects of MDMA exposure on the 5-HT system, using in-vitro and in-vivo approaches in both 5-HTT wild-type and knock-out mice. Acute MDMA...

BACKGROUND Adenosine is an endogenous purine nucleoside that has a neuromodulatory role in the central nervous system. The amphetamine derivative (±)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) is a synthetic amphetamine analogue used recreationally to obtain an enhanced affiliated emotional response. MDMA is a potent monoaminergic neurotoxin with the potential of damage to brain neuron...

3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is a popular drug of abuse. MDMA is pharmacologically classified as an entactogen because of its affinities to classical hallucinogens and stimulants. Oral ingestion of a single dose of the drug is associated with euphoria, elevated self-confidence, and heightened sensory awareness in humans. Evidence for neurotoxicity in the human serotonin (5-...

Besides stimulants and hallucinogens, whose psychotropic effects are shared by many structurally related molecules exhibiting different efficacies and potencies in humans, the phenylisopropylamine MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, XTC, "Ecstasy") is the prototypical representative of a separate class of psychotropic substance, able to elicit the so-called entactogenic syndrome in healthy...

3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a widely used drug of abuse chemically related to both the amphetamines and mescaline. Laboratory animal studies have shown that MDMA is a potent re-uptake inhibitor and releaser of dopamine and serotonin. Although the subjective and physiological effects of MDMA have been compared to d-amphetamine in humans, no direct comparison with a serotonin rele...