A `forest-fire of brain damage'

[dArKeR]

NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , New York

People who do not want to wait for old age to shrink their brains and bring on memory loss now have a quicker alternative -- abuse methamphetamine for a decade or so and watch the brain cells vanish into the night.

The first high-resolution MRI study of methamphetamine addicts shows "a forest fire of brain damage," said Dr. Paul Thompson, an expert on brain mapping at the University of California, Los Angeles. "We expected some brain changes but didn't expect so much tissue to be destroyed."

The image, published in the June 30 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience , shows the brain's surface and deeper limbic system. Red areas show the greatest tissue loss.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/07/21/2003179860

So let's link this story to aWol's 3 decades of alcohol and drug abuse!

[lapfog_1]

1. AHHH, so THAT explains it (freepers, that is). - EOM

[LSU_Subversive]

2. Just wait for the long-long-term results of ecstasy use

I always feel like I'm the poop of the party when I say this, but all these kids using ecstasy like its viagra are in for a sorry surprise. What a bummer.

[LSU_Subversive]

3. Just wait for the long-long-term results of ecstasy use

I always feel like I'm the poop of the party when I say this, but all these kids using ecstasy like its viagra are in for a sorry surprise. What a bummer.

[Dogmudgeon]

9. Ecstasy? I thought it was much less dangerous then meth

A lot of the Ecstasy-will-kill-you information from the anti-drug organizations was effectively disputed several years ago, especially the R and S receptor damage reports. I am aware that methamphetamine has a specific toxic effect, though, that is probably unrelated to its stimulant activity. (At least according to my most recent reading in the subject.)

This isn't to say that MDMA is "safe". Hyperthermia did emerge as a significant hazard, so the harm-reduction people made an extra effort to get the word out. But it's been difficult to get accurate information on illegal drugs, since there is so much propaganda presented as scientific opinion.

What is it that has been found out about Ecstasy that prompts your warning? I am not a user, but I try to keep up with these things.

--bkl

[whistle]

4. Same thing happens with tranquillizers and alcohol use....

...so do you think that the real cause is the alcohol? Maybe acts as a catalyst for these other drugs or the drugs cause alcohol to act quicker. Ever seen an alcoholic with wet brain? It's not very pretty.

[RoyGBiv]

5. Well...

Judging from what goes into making meth, I think memory loss is among the least of these people's problems. It's a testament to the resiliency of the human body that more meth addicts don't have their hearts just explode on them.

A few months ago, a kid who was cranking pretty hard threatened to kill me because I wouldn't sell him beer. Before the confrontation, I noticed a vein in his neck popping out and pulsing so rapidly it made me think of a hummingbird. When he got angry and worked up, I seriously feared it might burst through his skin.

[daleo]

6. The headline made me think of Bush

Bush - forest. Brain damage.

[porkrind]

7. I wonder what it did for Rush Limbaugh ?

besides ruin his hearing? I wouldn't be surprised if he had brain damage.

[dArKeR]

8. Should a caught drug user be allowed to broadcast on Armed Forces

Radio? Why aren't all of Limbutts assets seized just like the size the assets of people in other drug related crimes? Noelle Bush, Jeb's daughter too!