PMID- 21320226
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20110920
LR  - 20131121
IS  - 1360-0443 (Electronic)
IS  - 0965-2140 (Linking)
VI  - 106
IP  - 7
DP  - 2011 Jul
TI  - Pill content, dose and resulting plasma concentrations of 
      3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in recreational 'ecstasy' users.
PG  - 1293-300
LID - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03399.x [doi]
AB  - AIMS: To improve our understanding of the pharmacology of 'ecstasy' in 
      recreational environments; in particular, to describe the composition of ecstasy 
      pills, patterns of ecstasy use and the relationship between dose of 
      3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and resulting plasma concentrations. 
      DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A naturalistic observational study of 56 
      experienced 'ecstasy' users in recreational settings in Australia. MEASUREMENTS: 
      Drug use patterns (number of pills consumed, other drugs consumed). drug content 
      of pills and resultant plasma concentrations of MDMA and related drugs were 
      assessed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). FINDINGS: Ecstasy pills 
      generally contained MDMA, but this was often combined with other drugs such as 
      3,4-ethylendioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) and methamphetamine. The dose of MDMA per 
      pill ranged from 0 to 245 mg and users consumed from one-half to five pills, with 
      the total dose consumed ranging up to 280 mg. Plasma concentrations of MDMA 
      increased with number of pills consumed and cumulative MDMA dose. Use of larger 
      numbers of pills was associated with extended exposure to the drug. CONCLUSIONS: 
      MDMA is the major active drug in ecstasy pills, but there is a high degree of 
      variation in doses. Use of multiple pills over the course of one session is 
      common and results in a sustained increase in MDMA plasma concentrations over a 
      number of hours. This is likely to lead to a much greater exposure of the brain 
      to MDMA than would be predicted from controlled single-dose pharmacokinetic 
      studies.
CI  - (c) 2011 The Authors, Addiction (c) 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.
FAU - Morefield, Kate M
AU  - Morefield KM
AD  - Discipline of Pharmacology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
FAU - Keane, Michael
AU  - Keane M
FAU - Felgate, Peter
AU  - Felgate P
FAU - White, Jason M
AU  - White JM
FAU - Irvine, Rodney J
AU  - Irvine RJ
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20110503
PL  - England
TA  - Addiction
JT  - Addiction (Abingdon, England)
JID - 9304118
RN  - 0 (Hallucinogens)
RN  - 0 (Tablets)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Australia
MH  - Brain/drug effects
MH  - Chemistry, Pharmaceutical
MH  - Chromatography, Gas
MH  - Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
MH  - Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
MH  - Female
MH  - Hallucinogens/administration & dosage/*blood/chemistry
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Mass Spectrometry
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/administration & dosage/*blood/chemistry
MH  - Risk Factors
MH  - Substance Abuse Detection/*methods
MH  - Tablets
MH  - Time Factors
MH  - Young Adult
EDAT- 2011/02/16 06:00
MHDA- 2011/09/21 06:00
CRDT- 2011/02/16 06:00
PHST- 2011/02/16 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/02/16 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2011/09/21 06:00 [medline]
AID - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03399.x [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Addiction. 2011 Jul;106(7):1293-300. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03399.x. Epub 
      2011 May 3.