[Neurotoxicity of the drug Ecstasy. Functional consequences of serotonergic hypoactivity]

Abstract

Ingestion of the increasingly popular designer drug, ecstasy, results in an acute increase in the brain's monoamines: serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline. Animal research involving ecstasy has shown lasting damage to serotonergic axons and terminals, leading to reduced serotonin transmission in the CNS. Moreover, several studies suggest that the ingestion of ecstasy may be toxic to the human serotonin system. In animals repeated ecstasy administration has not shown persistent behavioural changes. In humans long lasting alterations in sleep pattern, mental state, personality, and cognition have been reported after repeated ecstasy use. However, these results have not been replicated, and most of them originate from uncontrolled studies of rather small populations.