VIRGINIA: Hampton U. Wins Federal Grant to Study Drug Ecstacy

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

THE WASHINGTON POST
Tuesday, June 24, 2003; Page B03

VIRGINIA
Hampton U. Wins Grant to Study Drug

Hampton University has been awarded a $2.1 million federal grant to study the 
effects of the drug ecstasy on the body,
officials said. The grant, covering five years, is from the National Institute 
on Drug Abuse, a branch of the National
Institutes of Health.

Hampton officials said they hope the research will help answer questions about 
a drug whose actions are largely
unknown. "There's a huge gap in knowledge in terms of why does ecstasy do what 
it does," said Hugh M. McLean, chairman
of Hampton's Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.  Ecstasy, popular among 
teenagers and young adults who attend rave
parties, leads to the destruction of neurons in the brain, McLean said. 
Repeated users of the drug develop symptoms
resembling those of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.  Hampton researchers 
will try to determine which byproducts
of the drug cause the destruction of the brain's neurons. McLean said.

Researchers hope to find a way to reduce harmful side effects of the drug.

SOURCE: The Washington Post, DC


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