First study: Effects of Ecstasy

by Cristina Pinto, Rector

University of Coimbra

So far, science did not know whether ecstasy, a psychotropic drug in the amphetamine group, affected the vision, including the role of the retina. A pioneering study in the world, developed by a team of researchers from the Institute of Biomedical Research on Light and Image - IBILI, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra (UC) demonstrated in an animal model (rat), that ecstasy can cause changes in perception and visual acuity for at least 24 hours.

World's first study on the effects of ecstasy on vision was developed at the University of Coimbra

So far, science did not know whether ecstasy, a psychotropic drug in the amphetamine group, affected the vision, including the role of the retina. A pioneering study in the world, developed by a team of researchers from the Institute of Biomedical Research on Light and Image - IBILI, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra (UC) demonstrated in an animal model (rat), that ecstasy can cause changes in perception and visual acuity for at least 24 hours.

Knowing that this drug causes toxicity in the brain, why not study the effects of ecstasy on retinal function, which is also part of the central nervous system? It may or may not be affected? And to what extent?

This was the starting point for research focused on the electrical activity of the retina developed in the last four years and whose results have just been published in the American scientific journal, PLoS One.
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"This study," explains the team coordinator, Francis Ambrose, "is a first step in the future, to determine the effects that continued consumption of ecstasy may have on the physiology of the retina." Therefore, the researchers intend to "mimic, also in an animal model, the continued use of ecstasy according to two paradigms: the young consumer who will spend a week's holiday in a group and take ecstasy every day, and the young consumer weekend. The goal is to evaluate the changes caused in the physiology of the retina."

On the other hand, this initial study reveals that "in addition to the damage that Ecstasy causes the brain, which may be irreversible, there is a potential additional problem: Damage to the vision," concludes the expert in vision sciences at the University of Coimbra.

Translated from the Portuguese version by:

Lisa Karpova

Pravda.Ru