Comment · Fri, November 9, 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
Borax · 3 points
Can you just clarify which enzymes you're blocking with EGCG?
This is a great guide and I'd love it if you posted it in the sidebar FAQ. Perhaps also consider making a separate thread about it?
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase. Reference
If you do not inhibit it, much of the supplemental 5-HTP gets converted to serotonin in the periphery, before it has a chance to pass the blood brain barrier. This wastes your 5-HTP at best, and cause heart valve problems at worst.
I was thinking the same thing about another thread or a sidebar. I see a lot of misconceptions here about everything from translation of animal doses to human, to pharmacological mechanisms of various substances.