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Recreational MDMA users at risk of sleep apnea

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 6, page 62 (2010)Cite this article

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Users of MDMA, or 'ecstasy', are more likely to experience sleep apneas (pauses in breathing) and hypopneas (overly shallow or slow breathing) than are nonusers, a new study has found. The results implicate brain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in these types of sleep disordered breathing (SDB), and may help to illuminate the neurobiological underpinnings of SDB.

MDMA is a popular recreational drug that is also a potent 5-HT neurotoxin. Several lines of evidence indicate that it causes lasting damage to 5-HT neurons in the brain. MDMA users are known to have cognitive deficits and disturbed sleep, but the long-term consequences of using MDMA are not fully understood.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS

  1. McCann, U. D. et al. Sleep apnea in young abstinent recreational MDMA (“ecstasy”) consumers. Neurology 8, 2011–2017 (2009)

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  1. Eleanor Beal
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Beal, E. Recreational MDMA users at risk of sleep apnea. Nat Rev Neurol 6, 62 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2009.224

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