The apnea and the ecstasy
Drug linked to nighttime breathing disorder
By Nathan Seppa
Users of a popular club drug will be less than ecstatic to learn that the pill might be making it hard to breathe at night.
Researchers report online December 2 and in the December 8 issue of Neurology that regular users of the drug known as ecstasy were more likely than nonusers to show the cardinal signs of sleep apnea — stoppage of breath and gasping for air — during deep sleep.
In sleep apnea, muscle tone in the throat becomes unduly relaxed, resulting in airway blockage. An individual gasps for breath many times per hour of sleep, often leaving 10 seconds or more between breaths. Frequent gasping and arousal from sleep go unnoticed by the sleeper — until the next day. Sleep apnea can lead to daytime drowsiness, morning headaches, irritability, low energy and even driving accidents. It has also been associated with cognitive problems, stroke and heart disease.
Ecstasy would seem to have little to do with sleep problems. The popular drug is a synthetic psychoactive compound called MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), which brings on euphoria, emotional warmth, and distortions of time perception and tactile experiences, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which provided funding for scientists who worked on this study.