ScienceDaily (Oct. 11, 2008)

Academics at the University of Hertfordshire are issuing new warnings about the dangers of ecstasy and its effects on the brain.

In the wake of a meeting of the UK government’s advisory body on drugs to discuss the harmful effects of ecstasy, Professor Keith Laws and Professor Fabrizio Schifano will reveal research findings about the drug at the university’s Health and Human Sciences Research Institute Showcase on October 21.

According to Professor Laws from the University’s School of Psychology, taking the drug just once can damage memory. In a talk entitled “Can taking ecstasy once damage your memory?”, he will reveal that ecstasy users show significantly impaired memory when compared to non-ecstasy users and that the amount of ecstasy consumed is largely irrelevant. Indeed, taking the drug even just once may cause significant short and long-term memory loss. Professor Laws findings are based on the largest analysis of memory data derived from 26 studies of 600 ecstasy users.

In a Showcase talk entitled “Drugs and the Web” also on October 21, Professor Fabrizio Schifano from the University’s School of Pharmacy will reveal research findings into the availability of ecstasy on the World Wide Web and reveal that search engines produce pro-drugs website earlier than anti-drug sites which increases the amount of potentially harmful information available and the accessibility of the drug.

The Health and Human Sciences Research Institute Showcase will host a variety of research being conducted by the University of Hertfordshire and will be held at the de Havilland Campus from 21-24 October. For further information, please visit: the Showcase website at: http://www.healthshowcase.co.uk

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Adapted from materials provided by University of Hertfordshire, via AlphaGalileo.

Source: http://www.healthshowcase.co.uk