PMID- 24424703
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20140915
LR  - 20230517
IS  - 1099-1077 (Electronic)
IS  - 0885-6222 (Print)
IS  - 0885-6222 (Linking)
VI  - 29
IP  - 1
DP  - 2014 Jan
TI  - MDMA and heightened cortisol: a neurohormonal perspective on the pregnancy 
      outcomes of mothers used 'Ecstasy' during pregnancy.
PG  - 1-7
LID - 10.1002/hup.2342 [doi]
AB  - OBJECTIVE: The illicit recreational drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) 
      or Ecstasy has strong neurohormonal effects. When taken by recreational users at 
      dance clubs and raves, it can generate an 800% increase in the stress hormone 
      cortisol, whereas drug-free users show chronically raised levels of cortisol. The 
      aim here is to critically debate this neurohormonal influence for the children of 
      pregnant MDMA-using mothers. METHODS: High levels of cortisol are known to be 
      damaging for neuropsychobiological well-being in adult humans. MDMA can damage 
      foetal development in laboratory animals, and the prospective Drugs and Infancy 
      Study was established to monitor the effects of MDMA taken recreationally by 
      pregnant women. RESULTS: The Drugs and Infancy Study revealed that young mothers, 
      who took MDMA during the first trimester of pregnancy, gave birth to babies with 
      significant gross psychomotor retardation. These mothers would have experienced 
      high levels of cortisol due to Ecstasy/MDMA use, and since cortisol can cross the 
      placenta, this is likely to have also occurred in the foetus. CONCLUSIONS: In 
      terms of causation, the developmental problems may reflect a combination of 
      neurotransmitter and neurohormonal effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal 
      axis, with serotonergic activity being influenced by the high levels of cortisol.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
FAU - Parrott, Andrew C
AU  - Parrott AC
AD  - Swansea University, Swansea, UK; Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne 
      University, Melbourne, Australia.
FAU - Moore, Derek G
AU  - Moore DG
FAU - Turner, John J D
AU  - Turner JJ
FAU - Goodwin, Julia
AU  - Goodwin J
FAU - Min, Meeyoung O
AU  - Min MO
FAU - Singer, Lynn T
AU  - Singer LT
LA  - eng
GR  - R01 DA014910/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States
GR  - R01 DA-14910-01/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
PT  - Review
PL  - England
TA  - Hum Psychopharmacol
JT  - Human psychopharmacology
JID - 8702539
RN  - 0 (Hallucinogens)
RN  - 0 (Illicit Drugs)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
RN  - WI4X0X7BPJ (Hydrocortisone)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Female
MH  - Fetal Development/drug effects
MH  - Hallucinogens/administration & dosage/toxicity
MH  - Humans
MH  - Hydrocortisone/*metabolism
MH  - Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/drug effects/metabolism
MH  - Illicit Drugs/toxicity
MH  - Infant, Newborn
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/administration & dosage/*toxicity
MH  - Pituitary-Adrenal System/drug effects/metabolism
MH  - Pregnancy
MH  - *Pregnancy Outcome
MH  - Pregnancy Trimester, First
PMC - PMC10187755
MID - NIHMS1898797
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Ecstasy
OT  - MDMA
OT  - cortisol
OT  - hormone
OT  - pregnancy
OT  - stress
COIS- CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
EDAT- 2014/01/16 06:00
MHDA- 2014/09/16 06:00
PMCR- 2023/05/16
CRDT- 2014/01/16 06:00
PHST- 2013/06/05 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2013/06/15 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2014/01/16 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2014/01/16 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2014/09/16 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2023/05/16 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1002/hup.2342 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Hum Psychopharmacol. 2014 Jan;29(1):1-7. doi: 10.1002/hup.2342.