Legalization of MDMA for PTSD Treatment: Phase 3 Clinical Trial Results

Scientists believe that the so-called “party drug” MDMA may help speed recovery from illness. post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

MDMA, also known as “ecstasy” or “molly”, is an abbreviation for the compound 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine. In recent years, the drug has been the subject of intensive clinical trials.

new evidence

The Multidisciplinary Society for Psychedelic Research (MAPS), a team of neuroscientists, recently completed a Phase 3 clinical trial of MDMA and will soon publish the results of the study, the final hurdle before FDA approval. Founder of MAPS Rick Doblin told the website Drug discovery and development MDMA could become a legal treatment for PTSD within a year.

In the latest MAPS study, Ninety participants with PTSD were given 80 to 100 milligrams of MDMA tablets before a psychotherapy session. The study lasted him three months and included three 8-hour treatment sessions he had. These were preceded by his three preparatory sessions that helped set expectations for the participants. After treatment, participants underwent an integration session to provide ways to further elucidate and process troublesome memories. Integrative therapy maximized treatment benefits and minimized harm, researchers said.

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Participants who received MDMA adjuvant therapy sessions were twice as likely to recover compared to therapy participants who received placebo. Sixty-seven percent disqualified her PTSD diagnosis and 88 percent experienced clinically meaningful symptom relief. If approved, it would also allow researchers to study the drug’s benefits for other conditions, such as depression. anxietysubstance use disorders, autism spectrum disorder,Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

MDMA and the brain

Jennifer M. Mitchell, professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco and clinical researcher at MAPS, explained that MDMA acts on the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes fear-related memories and facilitates memory retrieval. bottom. When used by clinicians in clinical practice, MDMA is said to help untangle, integrate and release deeply entrenched memories that have been repressed.

Additionally, MDMA promotes the release of oxytocin, a hormone that “makes you feel connected to other people,” Mitchell said. Psychiatrist.com. “People also become aware of a lot of self-compassion,” she added.

The result, says Mitchell, is an environment where participants can feel at ease in a therapy team, approach their memories from a different perspective, and ultimately begin healing.

Reduced safety concerns

MDMA has long had a stigma of being used as a party drug, as ecstasy, as molly.

“My generation used to say that. [MDMA] You could have holes in your brain, and that obviously scared people,” Mitchell said.

In 2014, A healthy 16-year-old London student died of a heart attack after drinking MDMA and dancing all night, raising great concern about the drug’s effects on the cardiovascular system. Mitchell and her colleagues take this concern seriously. She said they closely track the heart function of MAPS study participants during treatment.

“So far, we haven’t seen any indication of cardiac strain from administering MDMA in this setting,” she said.

Furthermore, Dr. Mitchell emphasized that MDMA therapy does not actually eliminate symptoms. traumatic memory from the brain. “Actually, I think some people have better memories, but they’re less avoidant. They’re not as embarrassed,” she said.

That’s not to say that MDMA treatment isn’t without its downsides. First, it is expensive and time consuming, making it inaccessible to many patients who would most benefit from it. There are also concerns about addiction.

“Like all amphetamines, you need to be very careful when handling amphetamines, watch out for overdosing, and make sure someone isn’t prone to becoming addicted to amphetamines,” Mitchell says.

The drug is susceptible to abuse, so researchers recommend that health care providers combine it with psychotherapy. Mr Mitchell pointed out: You don’t have to worry too much because it’s done in a well-trained and well-trained treatment facility. “

Another drawback of this drug is the lack of research on its overall effects on the brain. With that in mind, researchers typically do not enroll participants who suffer from comorbidities into their studies.

“Someone has it” personality disorder, some have other major illnesses,” Mitchell said. “It is not yet known how these compounds in general and MDMA in particular affect people with other diseases.”

turn of the tide

Younger generations seem to be more receptive to medications, including psychedelics. Mitchell believes this is a change due to the prevalence of psychostimulant use among millennials and Gen Z. ADHD.

Preliminary data are also promising. Mitchell said MDMA therapy has completely changed some patients. She has observed people who suffered from her PTSD, which was initially debilitating, and who no longer qualified for her diagnosis within three months thereafter.

“This is the kind of change that usually takes years to happen in psychotherapy,” she said.