GAINESVILLE, Fla., Nov. 30 University of Florida researchers say traumatic brain injury and using club drugs may both trigger a similar chemical chain reaction in the brain.
Firas Kobeissy, a post-doctoral associate, said a series of studies at the University of Florida has shown use of the popular club drug Ecstasy -- also called MDMA -- and other forms of methamphetamine lead to the same type of brain changes, cell loss and protein fluctuations in the brain that occur after a person endures a sharp blow to the head.
"Using methamphetamine is like inflicting a traumatic brain injury on yourself," Kobeissy said in a statement. "We found that a lot of brain cells are being injured by these drugs."
Kobeissy and colleagues compared the brains of rats given large doses of methamphetamine to those that suffered a traumatic brain injury. They found club drugs set off a chain of brain cell injuring events that seems to damage certain proteins.
Looking specifically at proteins in the rat cortex, the researchers discovered that about 12 percent of the proteins in that region of the brain showed the same kinds of changes after either methamphetamine use or traumatic brain injury.
The researchers presented the findings at a Society for Neuroscience conference held in San Diego.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
