Ecstasy abuse has been linked to a potentially fatal weakening and rupture of the spinal cord artery.
Posterior spinal artery aneurysms — a blood-filled swelling of the spinal cord artery, are rare.
However, doctors in the US discovered one of these aneurysms in a previously healthy teenager who had taken ecstasy or MDMA.
The case report, published in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery, is one of a number of neurological complications now linked with the street drug, including stroke. Ecstasy acts on the sympathetic nervous system, sparking a sudden hike in blood pressure, as a result of the surge in serotonin.
Doctors are concerned the drug could make any pre-existing aneurysms or other arterial abnormalities prone to rupture.
Source: Evelyn Ring, Irish Examiner, 04/07/14
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