THEY call it the love drug, but in reality ecstasy dampens passions, say
psychologists. It appears that people who use the drug frequently lose their
appetite for sex. And the damage could persist long after they stop taking the
drug.
Andy Parrott and his team at the University of East London collected
anonymous questionnaires from 768 young people in Rome, Padua, London and
Manchester. As people rarely take just ecstasy, the team wanted to find out how
using combinations of drugs affects mental health.
The team divided the returned questionnaires into six groups, based on
different drug-taking patterns. They ranged from people who took no drugs, those
who consumed cigarettes and alcohol, to 鈥渉eavy鈥� ecstasy users who had taken it
on over 20 occasions, as well as those who used drugs such as cannabis and
cocaine.
Advertisement
People who took a lot of drugs reported more psychological problems such as
agoraphobia and anxiety. But it was heavy ecstasy users who had most problems
with sex drive, and were nearly three times as likely to report a loss of libido
as non-users. 鈥淚t鈥檚 ironic,鈥� says Parrott, because ecstasy has the reputation of
heightening sexual pleasure.
The drug produces a warm, euphoric high that can last for a few hours. It
works both by boosting the production and reducing the breakdown of the key
neurotransmitter serotonin, which is linked to mood. People coming down from E
have depleted levels of serotonin, and can hit their lowest point days after the
original hit鈥攈ence the 鈥淪uicide Tuesday鈥� hangover experienced by many
Saturday-night pill-poppers. These feelings of sadness, depression and
anti-sociability normally fade within a week.
But the longer-term effects of ecstasy are now emerging. Regular use of
ecstasy could be damaging the neurons that make serotonin, says Parrott. His
team was the first to show that heavy ecstasy use can impair memory, and other
groups have found that these effects can linger for up to a year after people
stop taking the drug. No one is sure whether damage to neurons is permanent.
鈥淭he worry is that it may well be doing that鈥攚e鈥檙e not sure,鈥� says
Parrott. Permanently low levels of serotonin are linked to clinical depression,
anxiety and loss of libido.
People who find they have to up their dose of ecstasy should be very
concerned, says Parrott, as this could mean that the neurons making serotonin
are becoming insensitive to the drug. The average age of ecstasy users in the
study was only 23. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really quite worrying,鈥� adds Parrott. 鈥淚t certainly
isn鈥檛 a safe drug.鈥�
Although no one has yet proved that ecstasy damages these neurons in people,
researchers have shown that it does so in rats, says Mary Forsling, professor of
neuroendocrinology at the Guys鈥�, King鈥檚 and St Thomas鈥檚 School of Medicine in
London. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always the concern that this may be happening in humans,鈥� she
says.