The banned drug MDMA could be a useful addition to the treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers say today.
A small study involving 26 military personnel with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder tested the use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).
The participants were randomly assigned to receive 30 mg (seven participants), 75mg (seven participants) or 125mg (12 participants) of MDMA plus psychotherapy. The drug was given orally in two eight-hour sessions with psychotherapy at the same time.
The research team, from the University of South Carolina, USA, write that the 75mg and 125mg groups “had significantly greater decreases in post-traumatic stress disorder symptom severity than the 30mg group”.
They add: “Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were significantly reduced at the 12-month follow-up compared with baseline after all groups had full-dose MDMA.”
Among the 85 adverse events reported, 5% were deemed serious.
Writing in The Lancet Psychiatry today (2 May) they state: “Post-traumatic stress disorder is prevalent in military personnel and first responders, many of whom do not respond to currently available treatments.
Researcher Dr Allison Feduccia commented: “Key elements that contribute to the safety and efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy include careful medical and psychological screening, preparing participants for the MDMA experience and treatment, close support by trained psychotherapists during the sessions as well as professional follow-up support.
“In this environment, our study suggests that MDMA might help augment the psychotherapeutic experiences and may have a role to play in the future treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
“However, we would certainly not recommend that individuals try these drugs for the treatment of psychiatric disorders without the support from trained psychotherapists.”
Mithoefer, M. C. et al. 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans, firefighters, and police officers: a randomised, double-blind, dose-response, phase 2 clinical trial. Lancet Psychiatry 2 May 2018 doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30135-4
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(18)30135-4/fulltext
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