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Ecstasy Study Reveals Highs, Lows
Aired September 26, 2002 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A new study on the club drug Ecstasy reveals some alarming findings. It seems Ecstasy may damage parts of the brain, which could accelerate the onset of Parkinson's disease. But some experts don't agree with the findings.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us to explain.
Hi -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Kyra, this is being published in the journal "Science." What the scientists did is they gave Ecstasy to baboons and to monkeys to five of those primates in total. And what they found was it caused neurological damage. They say that when you translate this to humans what it means is that with single dose, which is usually several pills, according to the scientists, that kids take when they go out to dance clubs, when they go on raves, that just one night's worth of damage could cause neurological damage that the kids might not feel right then at the moment, but that years later could lead to neurological problems -- difficulty controlling movement, difficulty walking, the kinds of things that you see in Parkinson's disease.
I have to tell you, Kyra, when I first heard about the study, I said people shouldn't be doing Ecstasy anyhow. It's an illegal drug. What makes this interesting is that some doctors -- real medical doctors -- want to use Ecstasy to treat psychiatric problems and to treat pain. And they say that this study was not done well; they say that the primates got five times the dose that people tend to use. And they also say that when they've done MRIs of people's brains when they have taken enormous amounts of Ecstasy, that neurological damage has not been seen. So there is something of a controversy over this study -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Wow! Ecstasy for medicinal purposes. Are they on the fringe about this?
COHEN: You know what, it is not a whole ton of doctors. It is a few in the United States and some others outside the United States. But they work in real university, they are respected in field. In fact, Andrew Wile, who, of course, many people know, even he has said that he has seen Ecstasy help folks overcome allergies, overcome chronic pain. Again, we are not talking about using it recreationally; we're not talking about kids at raves using it for pain. But that he and others have said that when people use it in a medicinal setting it can be quite effective against pain and against certain psychiatric problems. PHILLIPS: Wow!
Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks, Kyra.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 26, 2002 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A new study on the club drug Ecstasy reveals some alarming findings. It seems Ecstasy may damage parts of the brain, which could accelerate the onset of Parkinson's disease. But some experts don't agree with the findings.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us to explain.
Hi -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Kyra, this is being published in the journal "Science." What the scientists did is they gave Ecstasy to baboons and to monkeys to five of those primates in total. And what they found was it caused neurological damage. They say that when you translate this to humans what it means is that with single dose, which is usually several pills, according to the scientists, that kids take when they go out to dance clubs, when they go on raves, that just one night's worth of damage could cause neurological damage that the kids might not feel right then at the moment, but that years later could lead to neurological problems -- difficulty controlling movement, difficulty walking, the kinds of things that you see in Parkinson's disease.
I have to tell you, Kyra, when I first heard about the study, I said people shouldn't be doing Ecstasy anyhow. It's an illegal drug. What makes this interesting is that some doctors -- real medical doctors -- want to use Ecstasy to treat psychiatric problems and to treat pain. And they say that this study was not done well; they say that the primates got five times the dose that people tend to use. And they also say that when they've done MRIs of people's brains when they have taken enormous amounts of Ecstasy, that neurological damage has not been seen. So there is something of a controversy over this study -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Wow! Ecstasy for medicinal purposes. Are they on the fringe about this?
COHEN: You know what, it is not a whole ton of doctors. It is a few in the United States and some others outside the United States. But they work in real university, they are respected in field. In fact, Andrew Wile, who, of course, many people know, even he has said that he has seen Ecstasy help folks overcome allergies, overcome chronic pain. Again, we are not talking about using it recreationally; we're not talking about kids at raves using it for pain. But that he and others have said that when people use it in a medicinal setting it can be quite effective against pain and against certain psychiatric problems. PHILLIPS: Wow!
Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks, Kyra.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
