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Thursday, December 3, 2009

Ecstasy Users are at Higher Risk of Sleep Apnea

On any given night in Los Angeles throughout the club scene people are using various illicit drugs. Drugs, known as "club drugs," include MDMA/Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate), and ketamine (ketamine hydrochloride). There are several other designer drugs out there as well, 5-MeO-MiPT or Foxy Methoxy is one of them, what makes these drugs so dangerous is that they are very difficult to dose. Perhaps the most popular of these drugs, MDMA(3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine or Ecstasy); characteristically found in the night club and rave scenes, is a psychoactive amphetamine that has been known to do severe damage to the brain. Scientists who have been researching the effects of Ecstasy have discovered that Ecstasy users are at higher risk of sleep apnea. US News reports, "People who use ecstasy need to know that this drug damages the brain and can cause immediate and dangerous problems such as sleep apnea", study author Dr. Una McCann, of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in a news release".

How long a person used Ecstasy directly affected how severe their sleep apnea is, according to the study. The study comprised of 71 ecstasy users (or had used) and 62 people, normal non-users. What was determined was the people who had used Ecstasy had an eight-fold increased risk of sleep apnea. Obviously, non-users do experience apnea, at least mildly; mild sleep apnea rates were similar in both groups, 27 % of non-users experienced mild sleep apnea. However, the study showed that 13% of ecstasy users experienced moderate apnea and 1% showed severe sleep apnea. "They also found that ecstasy use was a greater risk factor for sleep apnea than obesity", according to US News.

What is clear is that MDMA or Ecstasy does damage to the brain that may not be reversible. MDMA is not widely understood by scientists, let alone your typical addict; everyday we are seeing what these drugs do to the brain and it is not a pretty sight. "Our findings may be explained by how ecstasy damages neurons related to serotonin, a chemical in the brain that is involved in sleep regulation and breathing, among other important functions", McCann said. "Sleep apnea in itself is dangerous, but it can also contribute to thinking problems in people who use ecstasy because chronic sleep disruption is known to have a negative effect on how a person functions during the daytime". People going out at night for a good time are doing damage to their brain that cannot be repaired.

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