Cell Ecstasy: Cell To Cell Communication

As society downgrades more and more people look for a way to comfort. Many people turn to certain defense mechanisms in order control their feelings of stress or insecurity, such as resorting to drugs. Nonetheless many people don’t know how dangerous it can be on their bodies. The use of drugs can have a huge impact on the communication between cells. Cell communication is a crucial process necessary for cells to carry out various functions. Drugs such as Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), known as ecstasy, can create barriers or confusion to cells.
Cell to cell communication carry messages from signaling cells to target cells. Usually a cell will bind with a target cell through a receptor protein in the plasma membrane of the target cell
and create a signal transduction pathway. A signal transduction pathway is cascade pathway of biochemical reactions inside the cell that eventually reach the target molecule or reaction. They are given the signal to carry out various functions and if it is not properly signaled then the whole function can go wrong. This is important in all organisms because without cellular communication, cells wouldn’t be able to control the availability to nutrients or change in temperature. In multicellular organisms, cell signaling can join cells together to form tissues like muscles, blood, and brain tissue. In single-celled organisms, cell signaling can help coordinate cells to work together to overcome tasks that no single cell could carry out on its own.
Ecstasy is a drug usually consumed by the human society in order to provide this overwhelming feeling of excitement.
The serotonergic drug, a drug that affects different parts of the serotonin system, was created in 1912 by the German chemical company Merck, and acts as a hallucinogen and stimulant to the body. It was said to be sold as a diet pill however the company decided to go against marketing the drug. So by 1915 it was just used by the US Army for psychological warfare tests. It was then finally reintroduced to the world during the mid 1960’s for psychotherapy medication. The first human documented to intake the drug was Alexander Shulgin. Shulgin was a graduate of University of California with a Ph.D. in biochemistry that got a job as a research chemist with Dow Chemicals. It wasn’t till the mid 1970’s that the drug was being used as a party drug. During the early 1980’s MDMA was being sold under the name “Ecstasy”. By 1985 MDMA was avowed with massive media attention and banned due to health hazards. It is now categorized as a Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). This is because it becomes entangled in the neurotransmitter serotonin’s reuptake process, acting as a barrier and not allowing the cell signal to go through. This can create a great amount of problems for the
consumer.
Some short term effects can range too many feelings of peacefulness, acceptance, and empathy to transfixion on sights and sounds, nausea, and an increase of heart rate.
These effects can enhance the sense of self-confidence and energy and can provide the feeling of closeness to others with the need to touch one another. The psychological effects usually include confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, severe anxiety, paranoia, and psychotic episodes. Some physical side effects that the consumer can experience can be involuntary teeth clenching, rapid eye movement, chills or sweats. These effects can usually last for weeks. Ecstasy can be an addictive drug, over 50% of people report to have symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, depression, and trouble concentrating after trying to
abstain.
Many drug dealers still today sell “Ecstasy-type” drugs, that can sometimes contain very little or no MDMA at all. The most dangerous thought is that the Ecstasy today can involve many different substances, such as LSD, cocaine, rat poison, heroin, and even methamphetamine, which means, one can never truly know what one is taking.