Introduction: Ketamine, traditionally known for its anesthetic properties, is now being explored for its rapid-acting therapeutic effects in various psychiatric and pain-related disorders. Its emerging role in managing treatment-resistant depression (TRD), chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is supported by recent clinical evidence. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness...
AbstractAssociated with high-risk behavior, borderline personality disorder (BPD) remains one of the field's most misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and stigmatized conditions. Individuals with BPD are frequently labeled as treatment-resistant patients. Furthermore, 25–58% of BPD individuals have a comorbid diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and BPD may be conceptualized as a...
Little is known about the prevalence and associations between war-related variables among Ukrainians during the Russian invasion. The present study assesses the prevalence and associations between exposure to war (EW), nightmares of war (NW), insomnia, and war-related post-traumatic stress disorder (WPTSD) among university students from Ukraine. During the war, an online cross-sectional study...
The present study investigated differences in perceptions of psychedelic-assisted therapy between Black and White Americans, as well as factors that may influence these perceptions. A final sample of 294 adults (42% female, 44% Black/African American or Mixed Race (of Black/African ancestry), 56% White American; Mage = 36.3 years) completed an online survey which assessed baseline knowledge and...
High Ventilation Breathwork (HVB) refers to practices employing specific volitional manipulation of breathing, with a long history of use to relieve various forms of psychological distress. This paper seeks to offer a consolidative insight into potential clinical application of HVB as a treatment of psychiatric disorders. We thus review the characteristic phenomenological and neurophysiological...
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) frequently co-occur in patients who have experienced trauma. This comorbidity leads to a vicious cycle where PTSD symptoms beget heavy drinking and vice versa. There are no FDA-approved medications to treat PTSD-AUD; therefore, individuals suffering from this comorbidity are treated with medication approved to treat the...
Psychedelic therapy is, arguably, the next frontier in psychiatry. It offers a radical alternative to longstanding, mainstays of treatment, while exciting a paradigm shift in translational science and drug discovery. There is particular interest in 5-methoxy- N,N -dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT)—a serotonergic psychedelic—as a novel, fast-acting therapeutic. Yet, few studies have directly...
MDMA therapy for PTSD. Those suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may have a new treatment option—psychedelic therapy. In a confirmatory randomized controlled trial with 104 participants, researchers found that 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy reduced symptoms and functional impairment in people with moderate to severe PTSD. Their findings add to a...
European PsychiatryNovember 17, 2023C. Alvarez Garcia, L. Nocete Navarro, A. Sanz Giancola
Introduction Posttraumatic nightmares are one of the most frequent symptoms in posttraumatic stress disorder. Prevalence can be up to 96%. These nightmares evoke the experienced traumatic event, causing a negative impact. Besides, they are and independent risk for suicide. There are different pharmacological and non-pharmacological options for PTN, despite is no optimal treatment. Objectives To...
ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ARTICLES ASAPPREVViewpointNEXTExpectancy Effects Cannot Be Neglected in MDMA-Assisted Therapy ResearchL. Jacob FlamelingL. Jacob FlamelingInstitute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden 2333 AK, The NetherlandsMore by L. Jacob Flamelinghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1425-1180, Jacob S. AdayJacob S. AdayDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,...
There has been a resurgence in psychedelic research for managing psychiatric conditions in recent years. This study aimed to present a comprehensive review of the current state of the field by applying a systematic search strategy for articles on the effectiveness and tolerability of four psychedelic-assisted therapies (psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD],...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health disorder that causes significant dysfunction in individuals. Currently, there are many approved pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treatment options for PTSD, but unfortunately, half of the patients do not respond to traditional therapies. In this article, we review clinical trials and research on...
Cannabis is well established to impact affective states, emotion and perceptual processing, primarily through its interactions with the endocannabinoid system. While cannabis use is quite prevalent in many individuals afflicted with psychiatric illnesses, there is considerable controversy as to whether cannabis may worsen these conditions or provide some form of therapeutic benefit. The...
Abstract: Rationale: A subanesthetic dose of ketamine, a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, elicits dissociation in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), who also often suffer from chronic dissociative symptoms in daily life. These debilitating symptoms have not only been linked to worse PTSD trajectories, but also to increased...
Abstract Purpose This study tested whether stressful life events and stressful combat experiences are associated with post-traumatic stress symptomology (PTS-S), via facets of mindfulness, in UK military personnel.Methods A sample of 435 UK veterans were recruited to a cross-sectional, online study. Participants completed self-report measures of stressful life and combat experiences,...
The present study examined the associations between war-related exposure, nightmares, fear, insomnia, and PTSD symptoms among university students from Western Ukraine. An online cross-sectional study was performed among 1,072 university students (80% of whom were women) during the war. Eight questions were developed to assess exposure to war, and seven items were designed regarding nightmares...
This multi-site, randomized, double-blind, confirmatory phase 3 study evaluated the efficacy and safety of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) versus placebo with identical therapy in participants with moderate to severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Changes in Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) total severity score (primary endpoint) and...
The third part of a new study assessing MDMA‐assisted therapy, a psychedelic drug also known as Ecstasy, has revealed improvement in diverse individuals suffering with severe post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, “MDMA‐assisted therapy for moderate to severe PTSD: a randomized, placebo‐controlled phase 3 trial,” published Sept. 14 in Nature Medicine.
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Clinical & ResearchFull AccessMDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD Shows Promise for Patients of Diverse BackgroundsSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:22 Sep 2023https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2023.10.10.60AbstractMDMA appears to enhance the ability of individuals with PTSD to benefit from psychotherapy by softening their...