The study, which also surveyed non-drug users, found that those who regularly took ecstasy suffered from mainly long-term memory difficulties, and that they were 23 per cent more likely to report problems with remembering things than non-users.
The British research team, led by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, also questioned volunteers about their use of other recreational drugs. It found those who regularly used cannabis reported up to 20 per cent more memory problems than non-users. Their short-term memory was mainly affected.
Because evidence has shown ecstasy users are likely to use other drugs, including cannabis, the researchers say they are vulnerable to a myriad of memory afflictions which may represent a 'time bomb' of cognitive problems for later life.
Results of the study are published in the current edition of the Journal of Psychopharmacology.
Use of ecstasy, otherwise known as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, is on the increase, with up to two million tablets being consumed every weekend in the UK.
Until now, little has been known about the impact of ecstasy and other drug use on everyday and long-term memory.
Researchers from the Universities of Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumbria, Westminster, Teesside and East London surveyed drug users via a web-based questionnaire.
Volunteers were posed questions about their everyday and long-term memory and asked to rank the probability of scenarios such as finding a television story difficult to follow and forgetting to pass a message onto somebody.
The research team based their findings on responses from 763 participants but they also looked closely at a sub-group of 81 'typical' ecstasy users who had taken the drug
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Contact: Mick Warwicker
press.office@ncl.ac.uk
0-191-222-7850
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
14-Jan-2004