ADVERSE REACTIONS WITH 3,4-METHYLENEDIOXYMETHAMPHETAMINE (MDMA, ECSTASY)

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA;'ecstasy') is an increasingly popular recreational drug in the US, Western Europe and Australia. In animals, including nonhuman primates, MDMA is known to damage brain se rotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) neurons. It is not known whether M DMA damages serotonin neurons in the human brain but there is some ind ication that it may. Although the large majority of individuals who ha ve used MDMA recreationally do not develop acute complications, as the popularity of MDMA has increased, so have reports of adverse nonpsych iatric and psychiatric consequences associated with use of the drug. F urther, since manifestations of MDMA-induced serotonin injury might on ly become apparent with age, or under periods of stress, it is possibl e that some individuals with no apparent abnormalities might develop c omplications over time.