On the 4th, doctors from the University of London detailed the case of a man believed to have taken the highest number of ecstasy pills in his personal use. A message from St. George's Hospital Medical School in London stated that a British man took 40,000 MADA pills (MDMA, a central nervous system stimulant structurally similar to methamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy, Adam, XTC, or the love drug) over a period of nine years. The previous recorded highest consumption of such a drug was 2,000 pills.
Although the 37-year-old man stopped taking ecstasy seven years ago, he still faces the physical and psychological side effects of the drug. He suffers from severe memory problems, delusions, hallucinations, and depression. Moreover, he endures painful muscle spasms in his neck and jaw, sometimes to the point where he cannot open his mouth. Researchers believe that some of these symptoms may be permanent.
The man began taking ecstasy at the age of 21. In the first two years, he took an average of five pills per week. This gradually increased to 3.5 pills per day, and in the most severe four-year period, he took an average of about 25 pills per day. Later, after several near-fatal experiences at parties, he decided to stop taking ecstasy. In the months following his cessation, he was still affected by the drug and was even bedridden. His condition then began to deteriorate, with hallucinations and other issues such as delusions and muscle stiffness.
"Eventually, he came to us because he could no longer bear it," said Dr. Christos Kouimtsidis, a psychiatric consultant at St. George's Hospital Medical School, who treated him for five months. "He couldn't even cope with his daily life."
The study found he had short-term memory problems, unable to recall events from day to day. It was also difficult for researchers to assess his condition because he could not concentrate to complete very simple tasks in the tests.
"This is a very special case. His long-term memory is fine, but he can't remember daily events, like what he bought at the supermarket on which day and at what time," Kouimtsidis said. "What's more worrying is that he is not aware of these problems himself."
There was no history of mental illness in his family, and he had no prior history of psychiatric treatment. Doctors concluded that his condition was a direct result of his heavy use of ecstasy.
"This is an extremely extreme case, and we can't just abandon it without any practical research," Dr. Kouimtsidis said. "It may suggest that long-term use of stimulant drugs could lead to irreversible memory problems and other cognitive difficulties." Strangely, however, when his brain was scanned, no damage or atrophy was found. Dr. Kouimtsidis said that current brain scanning technology is not sensitive enough.
For ten years, scientists have believed that long-term use of stimulants could cause conditions similar to this man's. The drug can cause a disruption of serotonin in the blood, a brain chemical believed to control human mood and memory. But it is unclear whether the effects caused are long-term neurotoxicity or temporary brain confusion. To directly study human reactions to these drugs, researchers face limitations from scanning technology as well as numerous ethical and legal obstacles. Therefore, scientists can only find subjects like the man mentioned above for their research, and the conclusions drawn from such cases are often flawed because users of such drugs often take other substances as well.
For example, the man mentioned above also smoked large amounts of cannabis. However, it was found that when he reduced his cannabis use, his hallucinations and delusions improved, but his memory problems persisted.
When he was being treated, his condition showed significant improvement. "Unfortunately, before we could complete the assessment, he gave up and started smoking cannabis again. We are still trying to help him, but a year ago, we lost contact with him," Kouimtsidis said. Caregivers also tried to find him, but without success.