<http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-02-24T000247Z_01_L23697219_RTRUKOC_0_UK-ECSTASY.xml&archived=False>
Study questions ecstasy link to depression

Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:02 AM GMT 
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
By Chris Johnson

LONDON (Reuters) - Ecstasy, the illegal recreational drug blamed
by doctors for depression and anxiety, may often only enhance
these symptoms rather than cause them, according to a study
published on Friday.

Dutch researchers found that children who suffered from
depression were more likely to go on to use the drug when they
grew up to make them feel better.

The appearance later in life of emotional problems in these
people might not therefore be primarily due to their use of
ecstasy, but could reflect pre-existing conditions.

"Using ecstasy may increase a risk that is already there," said
author Anja Huizink, assistant professor at the Erasmus Medical
Centre in Rotterdam.

"Other studies claim that ecstasy leads to depression," Huizink
told Reuters. "Sometimes that is the case. But perhaps it is
more the case that individuals who already have an increased
risk for depression are more likely to use ecstasy."

Ecstasy -- or methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) -- helps the
body relax, reduces inhibitions and increases energy and brings
feelings of euphoria.

CLUBBERS

Introduced in the 1970s to treat depression, ecstasy is now used
by millions of young people around the world, especially
clubbers who say it can help them dance all night. United
Nations data suggest the use of ecstasy surged by 70 percent
between 1995 and 2000.

But ecstasy has increasingly been linked with health problems
such as depression, especially where individuals have made heavy
use of the drug over a long time.

The Dutch study of 1,580 individuals over 14 years published
online by the British Medical Journal, left open the possibility
that ecstasy might cause depression in some cases.

"Perhaps for individuals who did not display symptoms of
depression and anxiety in childhood, using a lot of ecstasy may
also cause depression. We are not saying that is not the case,
but we need more studies," said Huizink.

She and her colleagues first looked at their sample in 1983,
before ecstasy appeared as a recreational drug in the
Netherlands. Use of the drug was then assessed 14 years later.

Individuals with signs of anxiety and depression in 1983 showed
an increased risk of starting to use ecstasy.

The researchers said other factors not tested in their study
could account for the increased tendency to use ecstasy in some
individuals. These included the social environment, novelty
seeking and the substance use of parents.

"Focussing on these vulnerable individuals in future studies
will increase our insight into the potential harmful effects of
MDMA," they concluded.

	-	-	-	-	-
"Symptoms of anxiety and depression in childhood and use of
MDMA: prospective, population based study"
Anja C Huizink, Robert F Ferdinand, Jan van der Ende, and Frank
C Verhulst
BMJ, Feb 2006;
doi:10.1136/bmj.38743.539398.3A

Abstract:
<http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/bmj.38743.539398.3Av1?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=ecstasy&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1141984939540_2795&FIRSTINDEX=20&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=1>

Full article:
<http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/rapidpdf/bmj.38743.539398.3Av1?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=ecstasy&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1141984832250_2768&FIRSTINDEX=20&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=1>

.... more news stories covering this:
<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000100&sid=axFEDlwJHpn8&refer=germany>
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4743146.stm>

So it's a chicken-and-egg thing. Just like marijuana and amotivational
syndrome. Yeah I can buy that.

Jake Blues wrote:
> Yeah I can buy that.

*snigger*

In my case it worked the opposite.  Of course I am not a heavy user at
all.  Just once each month or so.  What I noticed is that the following
week, my mood remains very good.  Even though the high is long gone.
Years ago I was prescribed and used prozac for a few months.  The
feeling is very symilar.

Odeen

On 15 Mar 2006 14:18:58 -0800,"odeen",  wrote

> In my case it worked the opposite.  Of course I am not a heavy user
> at all.  Just once each month or so.  What I noticed is that the
> following week, my mood remains very good.  Even though the high is
> long gone. Years ago I was prescribed and used prozac for a few
> months.  The feeling is very symilar.
> 
> Odeen

    That depends on what people are being sold as Ectasy.  
Here in the SF Bay Area two local weekly papers have long 
articles on club drug use and very little Ectasy in each 
tablet, mostly anti-histamine with a speedy diet drug to 
top it off.  The contributing writer felt quite ripped off.

    later
    bliss -- C  O C O A  Powered... (at california dot com)

--       
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco
 
     "It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
     It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
     the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
     It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
        --from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

Everyone knows if you cant get hold of any good E's it really fucks people 
off.

Hee hee..


"bobbie sellers"  wrote in message 
news:10300984397141.NC-1.56.blissNO@News.Individual.NET...
> On 15 Mar 2006 14:18:58 -0800,"odeen",  wrote
>
>> In my case it worked the opposite.  Of course I am not a heavy user
>> at all.  Just once each month or so.  What I noticed is that the
>> following week, my mood remains very good.  Even though the high is
>> long gone. Years ago I was prescribed and used prozac for a few
>> months.  The feeling is very symilar.
>>
>> Odeen
>
>    That depends on what people are being sold as Ectasy.
> Here in the SF Bay Area two local weekly papers have long
> articles on club drug use and very little Ectasy in each
> tablet, mostly anti-histamine with a speedy diet drug to
> top it off.  The contributing writer felt quite ripped off.
>
>    later
>    bliss -- C  O C O A  Powered... (at california dot com)
>
> --
> bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco
>
>     "It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
>     It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
>     the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
>     It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
>        --from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.
>