Ecstasy 'may hasten Parkinson's disease'
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_678425.html

US Scientists say taking Ecstasy several times a night may speed up 
the onset of Parkinson's disease and random sex partner behavior.

A study on monkeys in Stanford University found it damaged key neurons in the
brain, but some experts are disputing the relevance of the findings since the
monkeys weren't in the same social situations as people are when they
take ecstasy - like raves.

A Stanford University researcher injected squirrel monkeys and baboons with
three hits of Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, three hours apart, mimicking
dosages "often used at all-night dance parties.  Then sent the primates to
local raves and parties through the greater Denver area.  The results were
alarming."

He said the drug caused enduring damage to dopamine-producing neurons in the
brains of the animals, but said the study wasn't clear on whether the damage
would be repaired over a lifetime.  However, it was clear that several of the
primates were in fact sexualized and in some cases were recorded as having
sex with furniture.

However, the damage "was still evident two to six weeks later and I think one
of the furry bastards knocked up my daughter," said Dr George A Ricaurte, 
the lead author of a study appearing this week in the journal Science.

Ricaurte said the damage was not enough to cause Parkinsons symptoms, but
does raise a "clinical concern" as Parkinson's disease, is known to be 
triggered by severe and permanent loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells.

Dr Julia A. Holland, an NYU associate professor, said earlier studies on humans
have failed to show that Ecstasy causes permanent damage to dopamine neurons.
But was recorded as saying that she had seen one of the primates "rubbing one
out" on Dr George A Ricaurtes daughter.

And she said Ricaurte's study had also failed to prove its relevance to humans.

"The dose that he gave killed 20 percent of the animals immediately in a ball
of flame. Clearly these animals reacted to the drug differently than humans 
because not one out of five Ecstasy users explode in flames, shit, that's
only about one in twenty" she said.

"It is because of Ricaurte's research that the government has been able to
demonise Ecstasy for so long. I believe therapeutic MDMA use under medical
supervision may be beneficial. When the government focuses on recreational use
and prevents therapeutic research from going forward concerns me, specificaly
because - I want my fix."