New study using MDMA to treat PTSD

Good news for those that believe the party drug MDMA can be used to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). On Friday the DEA informed study leader and psychiatrist Dr. Michael Mithoefer that it had approved his Schedule 1 license for an MDMA/PTSD study in veterans with PTSD. The study is being orchestrated by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

A recent trial amongst 20 patient shows that the use of ecstasy is safe and seems to improve the results of psychotherapy. Researchers say that the drug allows patients to be more open during therapy sessions. Many people suffering from PTSD find it difficult to process emotions. Even though the study excluded patients with a history of addiction or psychosis the team of US researchers are optimistic that further research will improve treatment for PTSD.

Over recent years PTSD has become particularly prevalent in soldiers returning from tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers have returned with insomnia, nightmares, and constant restlessness amongst other symptoms.  PTSD is difficult to treat and many soldiers are dismissed for showing symptoms of the illness; some are dismissed for having a personality disorder others for drug use. When PTSD is diagnosed the treatment can be as potentially dangerous as the disorder itself.  For the last nine years the US Veteran Affairs Department have been treating PTSD with a medication called Seroquel and the numbers of veterans being treated has made it the fifth best selling drug in the USA. However side affects of taking Seroquel include diabetes, weight gain, uncontrollable muscle spasms, slurred speech, disorientation and tremors. There have been at least half a dozen confirmed deaths of soldiers taking the prescribed medication but critics believe that there may be many more Seroquel related deaths amongst serving or ex-military servicemen.

According to a recent UK study there are 20,000 former soldiers in the criminal justice system with about 8500 of those actually in prison. It is estimated that half of those have committed offenses due to suffering from PTSD and in many cases the crimes are violent. Many probation officers attribute these high figures to inadequate support or counselling for soldiers when they leave the armed forces.
The researchers hope that by using MDMA they will be able to treat patients suffering PTSD more efficiently. However Professor Simon Wessely, PTSD expert at King's College London and honorary consultant adviser in psychiatry for the British army, pointed out that the initial study was too small to draw any conclusion.

In the preliminary trial, patients were offered two eight-hour psychotherapy sessions scheduled a few weeks apart, with 12 of them given a dose of ecstasy and eight a placebo.

Two months later, 10 of the 12 patients given ecstasy responded to the treatment, the researchers said. In contrast, just two out of eight patients offered a placebo showed an improvement.

Now the DEA has given its approval the next study can go ahead. The study will take two years and cost about $500,000. As most of the budget still has to be raised MAPS are taking donations.