WA:Scientists say ecstasy could treat cancer

AAP General News (Australia)
08-29-2011
WA:Scientists say ecstasy could treat cancer

The illicit drug ecstasy could be redesigned and used to treat blood cancers, according
to a team of researchers from the University of Western Australia and the University of
Birmingham in England.

Papers by the UWA's Associate Professor MATTHEW PIGGOTT and PhD students MICHAEL GANDY
and KATIE LEWIS show compounds similar to ecstasy, scientifically known as MDMA, kill
cell lines derived from blood cancers such as lymphoma, myeloma and leukaemia.

The researchers say MDMA analogues have been modified to eliminate the psycho-activity
seen in ecstasy.

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KEYWORD: ECSTASY (PERTH)

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