There has been a lot of media attention around researchers who have tried to show that MDMA (Ecstasy) may cause damage to the dopamine system which could lead to parkinson's like symptoms [see Ricaurte].

An interesting side note about MDMA & Parkinson's disease is that it was reported in February 2001 that a man who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's in his mid 30's and had subsequently taken ecstasy, discovered that for around 6-8 hours, he regained muscular control and felt many of the Parkinson's symptoms recede. "I was suddenly looking down at my body aware that the twitching had gone, and I had this incredible fluidity. I was completely normal" (Time.com, February 19, 2001 Vol. 157 No. 7).

BBC published an interview with this man in 2001 as did the magazine New Scientist.

Links:

• Ecstasy 'relieves Parkinson's Disease', BBC Feb 2001
• Ecstasy has dramatic effect on Parkinson's symptoms, Nov 2002 New Scientist
• Time.com (Broken Link)

(Note: Although it probably has nothing to do with the human mechanism for relieving parkinson's symptoms, research in 2003 showed that fetal rats exposed to MDMA in utero had increased numbers of Dopamine neurons: NIDA Press Release).