‘Ecstasy pills cause memory damage’

London: Taking ecstasy, a popular party drug, even in recreational amounts can cause specific memory damage, scientists have warned.      The memory lapses are similar to those that occur in the early onset of dementia. Ecstasy, also known by its chemical name MDMA, is a Class A drug.      Studies showed that even ten pills of the party drug a year can cause specific memory impairment.      As the nature of the impairments may not be immediately obvious to the user, it is possible people wouldn't get the signs that they are being damaged by drug use until it is too late.      According to the study, new ecstasy users who took ten or more ecstasy pills over their first year of use showed decreased function of their immediate and short-term memory compared with their pre-ecstasy performance. PTI