Ecstasy Users at Increased Risk of Sleep Apnea

Boston (DbTechNo) - Results of a new study suggest that people who use ecstasy maybe at risk of developing sleep apnea.

Ecstasy is a common party recreational drug, that according to Dr. Una McCann, of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine if ingested often can lead to brain damage, and the above mentioned sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is characterized by the pause in breath during sleep, which can lead to cognitive problems and stroke, both of which can eventually be fatal.

For the study researchers recruited 133 people, 71 of whom had used ecstasy more than 25 times, and 62 who had never used it.

Participants were hooked up to machines during sleep so that the researchers could monitor breathing patterns.

They concluded that the ecstasy group was up to 8 times more likely to show signs of sleep apnea than the other group.

This interesting study can be found in the Dec. 2 online issue of the journal Neurology.