Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · Jan 2007
ReviewMDMA, methamphetamine and their combination: possible lessons for party drug users from recent preclinical research.
The substituted amphetamines 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'Ecstasy') and methamphetamine (METH, 'ice', 'speed') are increasingly popular drugs amongst party-drug users. Studies with humans have investigated the acute and possible long-term adverse effects of these drugs, yet outcomes of such studies are often ambiguous due to a variety of confounding factors. Studies employing animal models have value in determining the acute and long-term effects of MDMA and METH on brain and behaviour. ⋯ Lasting alterations in social behaviour, anxiety, depressive symptoms and memory have been demonstrated in laboratory rats given MDMA or METH and this matches long-term changes reported in some human studies. Recent laboratory studies suggest that MDMA/METH combinations may produce greater adverse neurochemical and behavioural effects than either drug alone. This is of some concern given recent evidence that party drug users may be frequently exposed to this combination of drugs.