Newsgroups: alt.psychoactives From: bagg@ellis.uchicago.edu (matthew john baggott) Subject: MDMA + SSRIs (was Re: Ecstasy + SRRI) Message-ID: <1993Apr23.160435.13963@midway.uchicago.edu> Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1993 16:04:35 GMT In article <16BB97712.FARM-PA@finou.oulu.fi> FARM-PA@finou.oulu.fi (Pentti Arvela) writes: >Is it true that ecstasy works by enhancing the serotonin level in brain. Yes, MDMA seems to enter the serotonin neuron and cause massive release of serotonin. >Could it be possible to prolong its effect by new selective serotonin re- >uptake inhibitors like citalopram ?? I just wonder. Probably not. One of the ways (if not THE way) MDMA enters the 5-HT (serotonin) neuron is through the serotonin reuptake transporter. By blocking 5-HT reuptake, you also seem to significantly block MDMA's entry into the cell, thus probably reducing its effects. I haven't seen any reports from humans about this, but I have seen microdilysis data wherein an SSRI stopped the fenfluramine-caused increase in extracellular 5-HT. On the other hand, Dave Nichols' group reported that rats who were pretreated with an SSRI and then given MDMA still responded as if they had been given MDMA. However, Nichols has more recently concluded that the rats do not experience/respond to MDMA the way humans do, since several substances which have no MDMA-like effect in humans will substitute for MDMA in rats. Thus, I would not draw strong conclusions from his SSRI+MDMA data. Some people take SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) several hours after taking MDMA. Thus is not to prolong or potentiate the MDMA trip but to prevent the possibility of a neurotoxin entering the 5-HT cell and damaging the cell's axons. This has been shown to happen in animals after relatively high or repeated doses. Chronic use of SSRIs, as is done in the treatment of depression, seems to reduce the effects of MDMA. That is, a higher dose of MDMA is required to achieve the entactogenic effect. --Matt