Ecstasy users' crash-landing

DRUGS

Weekend clubbers who use ecstasy in preference to alcohol should be prepared to hit a low in the middle of the following week, researchers say.

A study of two groups of club-goers who went out on a Saturday night and whose mood was assessed several days later found those who took the drug were more depressed and had poorer concentration than those who drank alcohol. Some of the ecstasy users had clinical depression.

The researchers, from the department of clinical health psychology at the University of London, say the depression could be a rebound effect, as levels of the brain chemical, serotonin, fall after being sharply raised by the drug. However, they warn that it may also result from damage to the nerve-endings where serotonin is produced, in which case "there is a possibility that complete mood recovery may not occur."