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- Newsgroups: alt.psychoactives
- From: bagg@ellis.uchicago.edu (matthew john baggott)
- Subject: MDMA + SSRIs (was Re: Ecstasy + SRRI)
- Message-ID: <1993Apr23.160435.13963@midway.uchicago.edu>
- Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1993 16:04:35 GMT
-
- In article <16BB97712.FARM-PA@finou.oulu.fi> FARM-PA@finou.oulu.fi (Pentti Arvela) writes:
-
- >Is it true that ecstasy works by enhancing the serotonin level in brain.
-
- Yes, MDMA seems to enter the serotonin neuron and cause massive release of
- serotonin.
-
- >Could it be possible to prolong its effect by new selective serotonin re-
- >uptake inhibitors like citalopram ?? I just wonder.
-
- Probably not. One of the ways (if not THE way) MDMA enters the 5-HT
- (serotonin) neuron is through the serotonin reuptake transporter. By
- blocking 5-HT reuptake, you also seem to significantly block MDMA's
- entry into the cell, thus probably reducing its effects. I haven't
- seen any reports from humans about this, but I have seen microdilysis
- data wherein an SSRI stopped the fenfluramine-caused increase in
- extracellular 5-HT. On the other hand, Dave Nichols' group reported
- that rats who were pretreated with an SSRI and then given MDMA still
- responded as if they had been given MDMA. However, Nichols has more
- recently concluded that the rats do not experience/respond to MDMA the
- way humans do, since several substances which have no MDMA-like effect in
- humans will substitute for MDMA in rats. Thus, I would not draw strong
- conclusions from his SSRI+MDMA data.
-
- Some people take SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
- several hours after taking MDMA. Thus is not to prolong or potentiate
- the MDMA trip but to prevent the possibility of a neurotoxin entering
- the 5-HT cell and damaging the cell's axons. This has been shown to
- happen in animals after relatively high or repeated doses.
-
- Chronic use of SSRIs, as is done in the treatment of depression, seems to
- reduce the effects of MDMA. That is, a higher dose of MDMA is required to
- achieve the entactogenic effect.
-
- --Matt
-
-
-