Only 60% of 529 samples of substances sold as Ecstasy or Molly, collected at U.S. music festivals between 2010 and 2015, actually contained MDMA when tested with colorimetric reagent assays. No significant difference in MDMA content was found between products sold as Ecstasy versus Molly, contradicting the common belief that Molly is less adulterated. People who learned their sample did not contain MDMA were significantly less likely to report intending to use it (relative risk = 0.56). The findings indicate that pill-testing services can reduce intent to consume potentially dangerous substances and may deserve legal protection.
A single intravenous dose of ketamine improved both typical/melancholic and atypical depressive symptoms in people with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder or bipolar depression. At one day after infusion, the effect was larger for typical/melancholic symptoms (Cohen's d = 0.61) than for atypical symptoms (Cohen's d = 0.41), and improvements persisted at day three. The findings suggest ketamine may have early preferential effects on typical/melancholic symptoms, though it benefits both symptom dimensions.
Older age is associated with slower and less durable antidepressant responses to intravenous ketamine in veterans with treatment-refractory depression. The study found that age-related declines in neuroplasticity may attenuate ketamine's mechanism of action, which involves glutamatergic signaling and synaptogenesis. Older patients took longer to achieve a clinically meaningful reduction in depression symptoms and were more likely to relapse sooner after the infusion series ended. The findings suggest that age is a key patient characteristic influencing the speed and durability of ketamine's antidepressant effects.