title: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in ecstasy (MDMA) users.
abstract: The popular recreational drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) has well-recognized neurotoxic effects upon central serotonergic systems in animal studies. In humans, the use of MDMA has been linked to cognitive problems, particularly to deficits in long-term memory and learning. Recent studies with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) have reported relatively low levels of the neuronal marker N-acetylaspartate (NAA) in MDMA users, however, these results have been ambiguous. Moreover, the only available 1H MRS study of the hippocampus reported normal findings in a small sample of five MDMA users. In the present study, we compared 13 polyvalent ecstasy users with 13 matched controls. We found no differences between the NAA/creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr) ratios of users and controls in neocortical regions, and only a tendency towards lower NAA/Cr ratios in the left hippocampus of MDMA users. Thus, compared with cognitive deficits, 1H MRS appears to be a less sensitive marker of potential neurotoxic damage in ecstasy users.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Daumann
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fischermann
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Pilatus
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thron
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Moeller-Hartmann
authors.forename: Euphrosyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gouzoulis-Mayfrank
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D011522:Protons; D012044:Regression Analysis; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011522:Protons; D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine