"The question of whether amphetamines like ecstasy (MDMA) or
methamphetamine (METH) cause neurodegeneration in humans is one
of the most controversial areas in science today," says
Professor Peter Wells of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy,
lead author of the study that appears in the April issue of the
journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology (FASEB Journal). "The short-term effects of these drugs
-- hypothermia, electrolyte imbalances and an elevated risk of
heart attack -- are well understood, but not their long-term
consequences." Wells and doctoral students Winnie Jeng, Annmarie
Ramkissoon and Toufan Parman theorized that prostaglandin H
synthase (PHS) -- an enzyme that synthesizes a range of hormones
throughout mammalian life -- is the catalyst that transforms
amphetamines into free radical products that react with oxygen
in the body to enhance the formation of highly toxic reactive
oxygen species. These toxic forms of oxygen are implicated in
neurodegenerative diseases