Posted by Adam on April 24, 2001, at 20:23:17
In reply to Re: Ecstasy use is safe, posted by stjames on April 23, 2001, at 18:33:59
Well, as I said, methamphetamine is the one that damages the dopaminergic neurons too (while MDMA seems to be a specific damager of serotonergic neurons).
I have seen lots of stuff saying MDMA does affect the DA system, and some stuff that says it doesn't. I've read things that say DA is depleted, and some other things that say it doesn't. I'm erring on the side of caution with this one, but I do tend to wonder if the effects on DA are probably indirect. I'm not ready to rule DA out yet, though, as a player, so to speak.
The fact is MDMA does lots of stuff. I've seen some papers saying it doesn't cause serotonin release, just prevents its reuptake. It appears to bind strongly to serotonin receptors, muscarinic receptors, histamine H1 (which may be the source of its cholinergic activity), and on and on. Sometimes what its REAL mechanism of action is seems to depend on who's paper you read. The consensus view (mostly provided by anti-drug sources, I will gladly point out as a caveat) reflects, I think, some of what I said above. Since, in my oppinion, MDMA kind of sucks, I might be prone to viewing in the worst light.
You may be right, and MDMA will prove to have no effect on DA whatsoever. I myself am not ready to accept that yet. Time will tell.
>
> James here....
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> It was proven some time ago that MDMA and analogues have no effect on dopamine.
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> James
poster:Adam
thread:60822
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010424/msgs/61063.html