Comment · Thu, November 8, 2012
Research Suggests no Neurotoxicity in MDMA
Original post in this thread
PuffyCheek · 194 points
In partial response to what I've been reading in the bestof'd thread here at /drugs, I think it would be good to start a discussion about the neurotoxicity in MDMA.
I feel as if the harmful effects discussed in the thread were overblown. According to a research done by the Harvard Medical School last year in 2011, users who were asked to use MDMA under a controlled setting over a certain period of time showed no signs of cognitive impairment nor decreased mental ability.
So the question remains, why do we have so much evidence from past research studies that show otherwise? The researchers at Harvard Medical School responded by saying that past research studies lacked a proper control environment. What that means is that past research studies did not control their test group to make sure they didn't engage in unhealthy activities after ingesting MDMA (i.e. going to a rave and dancing for 8 hours straight).
No research since 2011 has proved Harvard Medical School's conclusion wrong, that MDMA is actually harmful to your brain. No other research studies that I could personally find had settings as controlled as the one conducted by HMS.
That being said, research was done…
What they were answering
Direct reply to the original post — see the thread post above.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
I'm going to copy what I wrote on another thread:
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YES! Keep your damn body temperatures down people!
http://www.maps.org/publications/1998_malberg_1.pdf
http://www.springerlink.com/content/5v50nu221g91km35/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21924843
http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/270/2/752.short
http://www.maps.org/publications/1998_scheffel_1.pdf
http://journals.lww.com/neuroreport/Abstract/1999/11260/_alpha__Lipoic_acid_prevents.39.aspx
Very simply, MDMA induced neurotoxicity arises from oxidation of various substances in the brain. There is great debate of which substances are to blame. One theory is that a hepatic metabolite of MDMA, being uptaked into the serotonin axon, gets oxidized into damaging hydroxyl radicals. Another theory is that dopamine is the substance to blame for the oxidation. Another theory is that MDMA itself is reuptaked into the axon, being broken down by MAO-B. More likely is that it is a combination of substances being oxidized into harmful hydroxyl radicals. What is the common denominator for all evidence to MDMA's neurotoxicity? BODY TEMPERATURE! When your body temperature rises, you body's natural process for preventing oxidative stress (antioxidants) becomes less efficient. That lowering of efficiency is exponential. The higher your body temperature gets, the faster reactive oxygen species are created, damaging your brain. Not one single study in the history of MDMA has shown neurotoxocity when body temperature has been kept steady. NOT ONE. Pretty conclusive evidence for thermogenesis being the cause of MDMA neurotoxicity. Rats given a known neurotoxic does (20mg/kg, which would be the equivalent of me taking a 264mg dose), who were kept in a room at 20-24C, showed NO neurotoxicity in any part of the brain. Rats given the same dosage, but kept in a room 26-30C showed neurotoxicity in all regions of the brain affected by MDMA. A 2 degree Celsius rise in ambient temperature was all it took to turn no damage, to neurotoxicity in multiple parts of the brain! Here is the study if you want to read it.
Here is a simple guide to protect yourself:
Keep your body temperature down.
Keep your electrolyte levels balanced. Stay hydrated, but make sure you have electrolytes with the water!
Take magnesium glycinate before and during your roll. This will help to prevent excitotoxicity at your gated calcium channels, as well as slow tolerance buildup.
Take lots of vitamin C, grape seed extract, alpha lipoic acid, and EGCG before and during your roll. These antioxidants will help take care of any free radicals in your brain.
DO NOT REDOSE. If you do, do not do it after drop+1.5 hours, and make sure the redose is not larger than your first dose.
Keep your doses as low as you can. I see people doing idiotic things like taking half a gram. YOU ARE AN IDIOT, AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD!
Buy some piracetam. It is a neuroprotectant, and it potentiates your roll. If you don't take it before, take it before bed.
Take a large dose of melatonin before bed. It will help you sleep and it's an amazing antioxidant.
For the few days after a roll, take 5-HTP WITH EGCG and Quercetin. MDMA lowers tryptophan hydroxylase, so restoring your vesicles will be difficult with tryptophan alone. 5-HTP skips this step, but only if it reaches your brain. Take the EGCG and Quercetin to block the enzymes and give the 5-HTP a chance to cross your blood brain barrier.
Get a fucking labeled pill container and have your supplements ready ahead of time.
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So can MDMA be neurotoxic? Of course it can, and there are very many studies to prove it. Can you prevent the neurotoxicity? Of course you can. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't get people to start thinking there is no evidence for neurotoxicity, or that the studies were flawed! We don't want an ill-informed person seeing that and ignoring the necessary precautions to protect themselves!