MAPS: MDMA and calcium leaching / teeth grinding - References sought

[Patrick Salsbury <salsbury@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There's a fairly decent article in the San Jose Metro about the rave 
scene and the ensuing dental problems that 20-somethings are facing 
after all the teeth-grinding they undergo while doing MDMA. The full 
article is here:

http://metroactive.com/papers/metro/03.23.00/ecstasy1-0012.html

The article does mention that this behavior is similar to other types
of amphetamine usage, but never gets down to the cause, just the 
effects. 

I have heard many anecdotal references pointing to calcium leaching as
the biochemical cause of these symptoms, and that the jaw muscles are
apparently the first to go, leading to incessant and uncontrollable
teeth grinding. Long term effects of this leaching, according to this
same anecdotal references, are the weak, crumbling, and cracking teeth
exhibited so often by chronic amphetamine users. Consequently, the
conventional wisdom I've heard is that both long-term users of 
amphetamines, and occasional users of amphetamine based 
club-drugs like MDMA should take calcium supplements several hours 
before, or while taking the drug in question. From what I've heard, 
this will lessen, although not eliminate, the grinding effects noted 
while using MDMA and other amphetamines. 

My question to the group is: Has anyone heard of clinical research 
being done in this area? Is there more than anecdotal "community 
wisdom" to go by, here? I feel it would be useful to write to Mary 
Spicuzza (the author of the article) and provide some info as to the 
cause of the symptoms she's reporting on, in the hopes that she might 
be able to publish a follow-up and let the kids out there know how to 
take at least rudimentary precautions, before more of them grind 
their molars down to flat stumps.

Any info, whether anecdotal or published, would be appreciated. 




Pat
	   ___________________Think For Yourself____________________
	 Patrick G. Salsbury - http://reality.sculptors.com/~salsbury/
     The sushi mailing list is at http://reality.sculptors.com/lists.html
	   ---------------------------------------------------------
The problem with "What You See Is What You Get" is that what you see
is all you've got. 				--Brian Kernighan



------------------
MAPS-Forum@xxxxxxxx, a member service of the Multidisciplinary Association
for Psychedelic Studies (to become a member, see www.maps.org/memsub.html).
To [un]subscribe, email the message text,
[un]subscribe maps-forum youraddress to majordomo@xxxxxxxx