Moclobemide and ecstasy mix can kill
25 April 2003
Mixing the monoamine oxidase inhibitor moclobemide (an antidepressant) with the party drug ecstasy can be fatal.
European researchers reported how 4 young people died after taking the 2 drugs.
(Moclobemide is available in Australia under brand names such as Aurorix.)
None of the victims had been prescribed moclobemide and were possibly taking it to try and prolong the effects of ecstasy (Addiction 2003; 98: 365-68).
Instead they probably precipitated the serotonin syndrome, with fatal results. (Serotonin syndrome is caused by an excess of the brain chemical serotonin, and may result from an interaction between 2 drugs, where each drug causes a rise in serotonin concentration in the central nervous system. Symptoms may include change in mental status, confusion, agitation, sweating and shivering.)
In 3 cases the teenagers became confused and lost consciousness. The fourth — a 23-year-old man — was found dead in an apartment.
Post-mortems revealed that the victims had taken a variety of drugs.
There were therapeutic concentrations of moclobemide in the blood of 2 people. Higher concentrations in the other 2 suggested they had exceeded the maximum dose.
Some drug users take a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (another type of antidepressant) to prevent feeling depressed as the effect of ecstasy wears off. These 4 may have thought moclobemide would have the same effect.
Last Reviewed: 23 April 2003
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 25/4/03
