Comment · Tue, November 13, 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
turnerz · 1 points
MDMA causes vasopressin release?! This is new to me and really interesting because surely that counteracts the dehydration?
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
Yes sir
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16574714
http://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0002/ea0002p63.htm
The second study shows that it's metabolites increase this issue further. I take quercetin and grapefruit juice to inhibit the enzymes that metabolize MDMA in the liver to MDA (CYP3A4), but not the one that is the main metabolizer (CYP2D6). Source. So I take green tea extract during my roll, which is a diuretic and a good antioxidant.
However, if you take an SSRI after your roll stops, you can prevent much of the metabolism by CYP2D6. This protects you two ways, so it's a win win.