Re: MAPS: Re: People Magazine Blasts MDMA

[Ethan Russo <ptm5739@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 04:59 PM 1/5/99 -0500, RickMAPS@xxxxxxx wrote:
>To All:
>
>Some days, the bullshit is so thick I just shake my head in
amazement.
>
>In this week's People magazine (Jan 11,1999), there is an article
about
>Parkinson's disease.  Dr. Stanley Fahn, a supposed expert, is
quoted as
>saying: "we're looking into why dopamine cells die. We know that
some
>toxins kill them, including the chemical MDMA, also known as Ecstasy.
Some
>people who have taken it have come down with Parkinson's....."
>
> MDMA does not kill dopamine cells. In fact, extremely high doses of
MDMA
>do not even kill serotonin cells, just prune the ends of the
axons.  The
>drug that is being confused with MDMA is the synthetic heroin, MPTP,
which
>does kill dopamine cells and cause Parkinsons-like symptoms. Back in
1985,
>the DEA tried to link MDMA with MPTP in press releases and
public
>statements.  It's pathetic that a doctor would repeat this total
and
>complete misinformation.  But then, this is America during the
Drug War. 


Dear Rick & Forum,

        

The bad
news is that Fahn is a senior statesman in the area of movement disorders
(Parkinsonism, Huntington's disease, dystonias, et al.). The second bad
news is that he may have been misquoted (By People? -- Surely, you
jest!), or worse, he may have flat out erred, and thought that MDMA does
have some general neurotoxicity. He might have been confused by these two
articles, which  contain Parkinsonism and MDMA in close proximity,
but do not appear to provide more than a speculative link between the
two:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Neurochem Int 1998 Feb;32(2):117-31

Free radicals and the pathobiology of brain dopamine systems.

Cadet JL, Brannock C

Molecular Neuropsychiatry Section, NIH/NIDA, Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.

        Oxygen is an essential element for normal life. However, reactive oxygen species (ROS) can also participate in deleterious reactions that can affect lipid, protein, and nucleic acid. Normal physiological function thus depends on a balance between these ROS and the scavenging systems that aerobic organisms have developed over millennia. Tilting of that balance towards a pro-oxidant state might result from both endogenous and exogenous causes. In the present paper, we elaborate on the thesis that the neurodegenerative effects of two drugs, namely methamphetamine (METH, ICE) and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) are due to ROS overproduction in monoaminergic systems in the brain. We also discuss the role of oxygen-based species in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced nigrostriatal dopaminergic degeneration and in Parkinson's disease. Studies are underway to identify specific cellular and molecular mechanisms that are regulated by oxygen species. These studies promise to further clarify the role of oxidative stress in neurodegeneration and in plastic changes that occur during the administration of addictive agents that affect the brain.

Publication Types: Review, academic

PMID: 9542724, UI: 98203852
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Brain Res 1994 Aug 29;655(1-2):259-62

CuZn-superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) transgenic mice show resistance
to the lethal effects of methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and of
methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).

Cadet JL, Ladenheim B, Baum I, Carlson E, Epstein C

Molecular Neuropsychiatry Section, NIH/NIDA, Addiction Research Center, Baltimore, MD 21224.

        We have used female and male transgenic (Tg) mice that carry the complete sequence of the human copper-zinc (CuZn) superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene in order to assess the lethal effects of methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). In contrast to non-Tg mice, both heterozygous and homozygous SOD-Tg mice showed resistance to the lethal effects of both drugs. Females of both SOD-Tg and non-Tg strains were somewhat more resistant to the effects of these drugs in comparison to males. In general, homozygous animals show greater resistance to the effects of the two drugs. These results suggest that the acute lethal effects of amphetamine-substituted analogs might involve the  intracellular overproduction of the superoxide radicals secondary to hypoxic injury. The gender differences suggest that there might be hormonal-free radical scavenger interactions that offer better protection to female mice. This might be related both to the lifespan of and to the lower prevalence of Parkinson's disease in women. Future studies will need to address these issues further.

PMID: 7812784, UI: 95112024
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

        The only good news is that I checked the PubMed database, and there are no published papers that simultaneously contain the words "Fahn" and "MDMA" or "Ecstasy."  Thus, he may only be a self-avowed expert on this subject.
        Maybe a few hundred Forum subscribers would like to set him straight, and have him ask for  a correction in People, as if they are likely to care. Thanks to such "journalism" most Americans still think that LSD produces chromosome damage, and that Cannabis is a gateway to heroin.
        His address is:

Stanley Fahn, MD
Department of Neurology
College of Physician and Surgeons of Columbia University
New York, NY 10032
USA.

E-mail: fahn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    

Good luck,
Ethan Russo, MD