MDMA could be a powerful drug to treat PTSD, new study finds

A Phase 3 trial program of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for the Treatment of Severe Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has shown promising results and was significantly effective in treating symptoms of PTSD than a normal therapy that is usually accompanied by a placebo. However, in some cases, people who had been administered MDMA no longer met the diagnosis for PTSD by the study ended.

The trial, led by neurologist Jennifer Mitchell of the University of California, San Francisco, went ahead with the treatment with three doses of MDMA. It was accompanied by talk therapy over the span of 18 weeks. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD is expected to affect around 26 million Americans at some point in their lives, TIME reported.

The report further added that up to a third of people with PTSD still remain symptomatic 10 years after diagnosis. The main therapeutic drugs of choice — sertraline and paroxetine — do not produce any result in 60% of patients.

However, the study published May 10, suggest that MDMA aka ecstasy and molly could be the new medication that may help people in battling the condition.

The sample group comprising of 90 subjects had been suffering from PTSD, on an average of 14.8 years. Before the researchers went on with the study, the subjects were scored on three scales – the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and the Beck Depression Inventory.

The CAPS-5 is a 30-item survey that asks the participants to rate symptoms of unwanted memories on a scale of one to four. The SDS, a similar-like survey, asked the subjects to rate how much does PTSD interferes with their day-to-day works. It is evaluated on a scale of zero to 10. The Beck Depression Inventory, a 21-question survey asks subjects to rate feelings like sadness, hopelessness, self-criticism, and self-loathing on a zero to three scale.

And in all the surveys, MDMA seemed to be effective when it was combined with talk therapy as compared to the placebo.

At the end of the trial, the result said the average CAPS-5 score fell 24.4 points in the MDMA group as compared to the 13.9-point drop among those who received the placebo. The SDS scores fell 3.1 points in comparison to placebo’s 2.0 and in the Beck Inventory, the difference was a reduction of 19.7 points compared to 10.8.

The researchers found that 67% of people, who had taken the MDMA treatment, no longer fit the PTSD criteria. “My hope is that this will open the door to testing other psychedelic compounds for other conditions—such as LSD for alcohol use disorder and psilocybin for OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and end-of-life distress,” TIME quoted Mitchell as saying.

While it’s unclear how the MDMA works, other research shows that the chemical might increase the availability of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, decreasing the primal feeling of fear, anger, depression among others.