Drug and Alcohol Dependence
February 1, 2022
Christopher R. Nicholas, Julie B. Wang, Allison R. Coker et al.
67 citations
Background Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is commonly associated with alcohol and substance use disorders (ASUD). A randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial demonstrated the safety and efficacy of MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for the treatment of severe PTSD. This analysis explores patterns of alcohol and substance use in patients receiving MDMA-AT compared to placebo plus...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2022
S Parker Singleton, Julie B. Wang, Michael C Mithoefer et al.
36 citations
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has demonstrated promise in multiple clinical trials. MDMA is hypothesized to facilitate the therapeutic process, in part, by decreasing fear response during fear memory processing while increasing extinction learning. The acute administration of MDMA in healthy controls modifies recruitment...
Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly
October 29, 2021
Alison Knopf
Most patients with substance use disorder (SUD) also have anxiety, and many have post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), using drugs or alcohol to self‐medicate (although not effectively). What happens with PTSD occurs in the amygdala, explained George Koob, Ph.D., director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in an interview with ADAW last week. The emotional part...
The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
October 28, 2021
K W Smith, Dakota Sicignano, Adrían V. Hernández et al.
136 citations
Abstract This article discusses current literature on the use of 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)‐assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MDMA, the intended active ingredient in illicit Ecstasy or Molly products, is a psychedelic that causes an elevated mood, feeling of bonding, and increased energy. In MDMA‐assisted psychotherapy, patients are...
Cell Reports Medicine
August 1, 2021
John H. Krystal, Benjamin Kelmendi, Ismene L. Petrakis
13 citations
A promising new Phase III study of MDMA plus psychotherapy for PTSD treatment by Mitchell and colleagues that appeared in Nature Medicine raises important new questions about the biology and optimal treatment of this disorder. A promising new Phase III study of MDMA plus psychotherapy for PTSD treatment by Mitchell and colleagues that appeared in Nature Medicine raises important new questions...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
August 1, 2021
Adding 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) to manualized therapy for post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulted in significant symptom improvement and reduced functional impairment relative to placebo in a Phase 3 trial. The researchers observed no increase in adverse events from use of MDMA, including no increase in suicidality. Study results were published online May 10 in Nature...
Journal of Traumatic Stress
August 1, 2021
Linnae Ponté, Lisa Jerome, Scott Hamilton et al.
42 citations
Expression of concern
Sleep disturbances (SDs) are among the most distressing and commonly reported symptoms in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite increased attention on sleep in clinical PTSD research, SDs remain difficult to treat. In Phase 2 trials, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy has been shown to greatly improve PTSD symptoms. We hypothesized that MDMA-assisted...
Journal of Psychiatric Research
July 1, 2021
Ashley N. Siegel, Shakila Meshkat, Katie Benitah et al.
101 citations
Psychedelics are a hallucinogenic class of psychoactive drugs with the primary effect of activating non-ordinary states of consciousness. Due to the positive preliminary findings of these drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, the number of registered clinical studies has risen significantly. In this paper, clinical studies registered on clinicaltrials.gov that evaluate the treatment...
Canadian Journal of Health Technologies
June 24, 2021
Yi‐sheng Chao, Jennifer Horton
5 citations
Two systematic reviews, 3 randomized controlled trials, and 2 single-arm safety trials were identified that evaluated several combinations of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Psilocybin was the psychedelic most tested. Other psychedelics identified in the systematic reviews and primary studies were 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (or MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (or LSD), ayahuasca...
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
June 23, 2021
Julie B. Wang, Jessica Lin, Leah Bedrosian et al.
22 citations
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health condition associated with serious adverse health outcomes and functional impairment. Previous MDMA–assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) studies have shown promising results in single site studies. Two open-label studies tested this modality in multisite clinical trials to assess the feasibility of scaling this manualized...