Half of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) do not respond to traditional therapies. A review of six phase II randomized controlled trials indicates that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can reduce PTSD symptoms even in treatment-resistant cases. MDMA appears to work by increasing neurohormones such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and oxytocin, and by modulating brain regions involved in fear and anxiety. The FDA has granted MDMA-assisted psychotherapy a "breakthrough therapy" designation. Further research is needed to determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks and how it might fit into existing PTSD treatment options.
Half of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) do not respond to standard pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy. A review of six phase II randomized controlled trials indicates that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can reduce PTSD symptoms, even in treatment-resistant cases, by increasing neurohormones such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and oxytocin and by modulating brain regions involved in fear and anxiety. The FDA has granted MDMA-assisted psychotherapy a "Breakthrough Therapy" designation. Further research is needed to determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks and whether this approach can be integrated into existing treatment options.
Ketamine infused into the nucleus accumbens (NAc) reduces fear generalization in mice, a core symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. Foot shock strength-dependently induced fear generalization, increasing c-fos activity, lowering GluR1(S845) and GluR1(S831) protein levels, and raising P-GluN2B protein in the NAc. Local ketamine infusion decreased fear generalization while increasing GluR1(S845) and GluR1(S831) and decreasing P-GluN2B. The findings suggest ketamine may attenuate fear generalization by affecting glutamatergic signaling in the NAc.