Psychiatric complications of 'Ecstasy' use

Series, Hugh; Boeles, Sietske; Dorkins, Eluned; Peveler, Robert

doi:10.1177/026988119400800110

Cited by 38 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Compared to non ecstasy user controls, they reported significantly higher scores on the SCL-90 factors for somatisation, obsessionality, anxiety, hostility, phobic-anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, poor appetite and restless/disturbed sleep (Table 2). These findings agree with previous case studies, where a range of psychiatric and psychobiological problems have been described in recreational MDMA users: psychotic breakdown, paranoia, depression, panic disorder and various eating disorders (McCann and Ricaurte, 1991;Pallanti and Mazzi, 1992;Schifano and Magni, 1994;McCann et al, 1996;Curran and Travill, 1997;Parrott and Lasky, 1998;Series et al, 1994;Turner et al, 1998). Similar types of problem were noted in a survey of ecstasy users attending an Italian drug addiction clinic, where heavy users presented with a range of DSM-lll-R disorders: 'depression, psychotic disorders, cognitive disturbances, bulimic episodes, impulse control disorders, panic disorders and social phobia' (Schifano et al, 1998p85).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Psychobiological problems in heavy 'ecstasy' (MDMA) polydrug users

Parrott

Sisk

Turner

2000

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

173

142

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Twelve heavy recreational ecstasy drug users (30-1000 occasions), 16 light ecstasy users (1 -20 occasions) and 22 non ecstasy user controls, with group mean ages around 21 years, were compared. Three self-rating questionnaires were completed when drug-free: the SCL-90 (an outpatient psychiatric symptom checklist), the impulsiveness venturesomeness and empathy (IVE) scale; and the uplifts, hassles, stresses and cognitive failures questionnaire. Heavy Ecstasy users reported significantly higher scores than controls on the following SCL-90 factors: paranoid ideation, psychoticism, somatisation, obsessionality, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, altered appetite and restless sleep, together with greater IVE impulsiveness. Light ecstasy users generally produced intermediate scores, with significantly higher scores than controls on two factors and significantly lower scores than heavy ecstasy users on another two. Previous reports have described various psychiatric and psychobiological disorders in recreational ecstasy users, but it is not known how typical they are, being mainly based on individual case studies. This is the first study to describe psychological problems in a non clinical sample of young recreational ecstasy users. However, our ecstasy users were polydrug users, with both groups showing significantly greater usage of amphetamine, LSD and cocaine, than the controls. These other illicit drugs probably contributed to their adverse psychobiological profiles, while there is also the possibility of pre-existing differences between ecstasy users and non users. However, since repeated MDMA can cause serotonergic neurotoxicity in laboratory animals and man, these problems may reflect reduced serotonin activity induced by regular ecstasy use.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Psychobiological problems in heavy 'ecstasy' (MDMA) polydrug users

Parrott

Sisk

Turner

2000

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

173

142

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additional evidence suggesting a relationship between Ecstasy use per se and psychiatric problems are the studies by Series et al (1994), McGuire et al (1994) and Milas (2000). They present cases where a reoccurrence of symptoms occurred after further Ecstasy use.…”

Section: Psychiatric Casesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Psychiatric disorders in Ecstasy (MDMA) users: a literature review focusing on personal predisposition and drug history

Soar

Turner

Parrott

2001

Human Psychopharmacology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or Ecstasy) has been implicated in the onset of a number of psychological disorders and associated with a number of psychiatric symptoms that have persisted after cessation of the drug. This paper is a review of the published psychiatric case studies from the last 10 years involving MDMA. Only 24% of patients had a previous psychiatric history and 34% had a psychiatric illness amongst first degree relatives. The percentage of patients not having had a personal or family history of psychiatric illness and the temporal relationship between MDMA ingestion and the experience of recurring symptoms strongly suggest a causal relationship between the drug and neuropsychiatric manifestations. Further supporting evidence comes from several studies using non-clinical samples. Ecstasy users that don't present themselves in healthcare settings as having clinical symptoms have significantly higher scores on certain subscales of the SCL-90 compared with Ecstasy-naive controls, with higher pathology scores in heavier Ecstasy users. The full-blown psychiatric cases may represent the broad end of this problematic spectrum. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

show abstract

“…There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that this might, indeed, be the case. There are a number of case reports of chronic psychiatric symptoms following regular use of the drug including reports of depersonalisation (McGuire et al 1994), obsessive-compulsive symptoms (Cassidy and Ballard 1994), flashbacks (Creighton et al 1991;McGuire and Fahy 1992;Schifano and Magni 1994), panic attacks (McCann and Ricaurte 1991; Pallantini and Mazzi 1992;McGuire et al 1994;Schifano and Magni 1994;Series et al 1994;Cohen 1996;Windhaber et al 1998), psychosis (Creighton et al 1991;McCann and Ricaurte 1991;McGuire and Fahy 1991;Schifano 1991;Keenan et al 1993;Cassidy and Ballard 1994;McGuire et al 1994) and depression (Benazzi and Mazzoli 1991;McCann and Ricaurte 1991;McGuire et al 1994;Schifano and Magni 1994). These symptoms appear to differ from the more common acute psychiatric effects of ecstasy (Solowji et al 1992;Curran and Travill 1997), in that they were often not associated with the timing of each dose, and were chronic, persisting long after ecstasy use had been discontinued (McGuire 1999).…”

Section: Evidence For Chronic Neuropsychiatric Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%