Ecstasy (Amphetamines) Reverses Parkinson’s Disease in Study

Symptoms in mice that mimic Parkinson’s disease are reversed by treatment with amphetamines, including Ecstasy, according to a new study by Marc Caron of Duke University, US.

The drugs seem to work through a pathway not involving the chemical dopamine, which surprised the researchers since dopamine deficiency is the cause of Parkinson’s.

Russian scientists Tatyana Sotnikova and Raul Gainetdinov, working with the team at Duke University, studied mice altered to possess no brain dopamine. They show classic symptoms of Parkinson’s disease including muscle rigidity, problems initiating movement, and resting body tremor.

When the researchers treated these mice with high doses of different types of amphetamines, their movement problems dramatically improved. The most effective compound was methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) – commonly known as Ecstasy.

Prompted by British stuntman Tim Lawrence’s claim that his Parkinson’s symptoms were relieved by Ecstasy, a study in marmoset monkeys confirmed some anti-Parkinsonian effects the drug. And work by Werner Schmidt and colleagues at the University of Tübingen, Germany, has shown similar results in rats.

The Duke University researchers used a very different approach and a very different method, Schmidt notes, but they “reached the same conclusions as we did”.

Read an excellent account of a man’s journey through Parkinson’s disease and subsequent relief using Ecstasy. It appears that the dose can be tapered off, so you don’t have to be dependent on the drug forever.

My use of the drug has declined in direct proportion to the improvements both physical and mental that I have achieved. I no longer find myself having to rely on the inclusion of MDMA in deciding whether or not I will go out clubbing. This marked improvement is based upon a simple belief that the brain has regenerative powers, just as in the same way that the body has. It is a gradual process and is documented in a book I am writing called Fifty Ways to Enjoy Parkinson’s.

Source: Do Neurologists Dance?

Journal reference: Public Library of Science Biology (vol 3, p e271) via New Scientist