Researchers Find Possible Use of Ecstasy for Treatment of Cancer
Just as there are two sides to any coin, one may certainly put to good use anything that has been used the wrong way.
Researchers from the University of Birmingham worked on the party drug ecstasy, and found that the drug may be used to treat certain types of cancer, particularly blood cancers.
Previous researches, also conducted by researchers at the University of Birmingham, have shown that ecstasy and anti-depressants may potentially be used as a deterrent to cancer growth. Ecstasy had been found to be effective in the treatment of about half of white blood cell cancers. Unfortunately, requiring large doses for treatments placed patients at risk for death.
What the current research, published in the journal Investigational New Drug, has done is to alter the chemical structure of the drug. Results indicate that the alteration has rendered the drug more effective against certain blood cancers, including leukemia. It is the hope of the researchers that their findings may lead to more treatment options for such conditions as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma in the future.
In its altered state, ecstasy became 100 times more effective at suppressing the growth of tumors. One gram of modified ecstasy may produce the same effect as 100 grams of unmodified ecstasy – something that indicates strong potential for the use of ecstasy in future cancer treatment.
These findings have only been observed in the laboratory environment, however, and further research will be required before it can proceed to clinical trials.
