A persistent 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) exposure may disrupt the human body serotonergic system which subsequently leads to physical and psychiatric chaos. Serotonin, a well-known monoamine neurotransmitter which is the main target of MDMA can be found in cerebrospinal (CSF) fluid. Its variation reflects the severity of neuronal damage caused by MDMA exposure. Hence, this article...
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a psychoactive substance that is used commonly as a recreational drug at rave music festivals. MDMA intoxication can cause a myriad of symptoms and side effects including the manifestation of hyperpyrexia in patients. Hyperpyrexia can mimic a heat stroke and ultimately lead to various forms of end-organ damage. The most common methods used in treating...
Introduction: Small-scale clinical studies with psychedelic drugs have shown promising results for the treatment of several mental disorders. Before psychedelics become registered medicines, it is important to know the full range of adverse events (AEs) for making balanced treatment decisions. Objective: To systematically review the presence of AEs during and after administration of...
Purpose Following deaths and hospitalisations in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, related to the unwitting consumption of a combination of 25C-NBOMe and 4-FA, a community-led unauthorised drug checking service was rapidly established at a subsequent music festival. We aim to demonstrate the value of community-led drug checking, even when conducted in less-than-ideal conditions, by describing...
Abstract Background and Aims Hallucinogen use is potentially harmful. Information on whether such use has increased in recent decades is lacking. This study assessed overall and age‐specific time trends in the prevalence of 12‐month hallucinogen use in the US general population. Design Cross‐sectional. Setting Data from the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2002–19. Participants...
Ecstasy (literally, ‘standing outside’), that is, the sense of being outside or beyond the ordinary modes of consciousness, seems to be a universal trait of human existence. Among the many forms of ecstasy is religious, or ‘supra-normal’, ecstasy, which is seen as coming from the action of a higher source, or divinity. This essay examines the forms of religious ecstasy and related terminology...
Background: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has shown initial promise as an adjunct in psychotherapy to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Its efficacy and safety have been demonstrated across phase I–III studies. However, the mechanism underlying the potential utility of MDMA to treat PTSD in humans has not yet been thoroughly investigated. Preliminary evidence suggests that...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted breakthrough therapy status to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) in 2017 due to preliminary evidence supporting its efficacy and safety in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A series of six phase-II clinical trials studying MDMA-AT for treatment-resistant PTSD found that 54% of MDMA-AT full-dose...
Numerous studies have confirmed that 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) produces long-lasting changes to the density of the serotonin reuptake transporter (SERT). Amitriptyline (AMI) has been shown to exert neuroprotective properties in neuropathologic injury. Here, we used a SERT-specific radionuclide, 4-[18F]-ADAM, to assess the longitudinal alterations in SERT binding and evaluate the...
Background: Limited ethnoracial diversity in previous ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) trials for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has prompted questions concerning whether Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) also benefit from this treatment. Methods: Secondary analysis was conducted using a modified intent-to-treat sample pooled from two Phase 2...