Ecstasy may help with PTSD

[3113]

The drug that is:

The drug MDMA -- better known as the illegal recreational drug "Ecstasy" -- may help people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recover, a Norwegian research team suggests. People with PTSD "are usually running away from what they experienced as very scary, and then they never have this inhibition learning, this fear-learning," Pal-Orjan Johansen of the Norwegian University of Science..."When the clients are getting MDMA we believe it is easier for them. It becomes more bearable, it becomes easier to regulate, to be in the situation and not run away."

A couple of small studies in which people with PTSD were given MDMA in addition to standard therapy have had promising results, Johansen and his colleague Teri Krebs, a graduate student in neuroscience at the university, note in their report in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Meanwhile, three controlled clinical trials of MDMA plus therapy are now underway. A minority of people will develop PTSD after surviving traumatic events, such as being raped or serving in combat. They will continually re-experience the traumatic event in an intrusive way, while trying to avoid things that will trigger these memories or remind them of the traumatic experience.

...In their article, the researchers describe three mechanisms for how MDMA might benefit people who aren't cured by therapy alone, and even speed up treatment and make it more effective. First, they say, MDMA drug triggers the release of oxytocin, the so-called "cuddle chemical," which reduces fear while boosting trust. This could make it easier for PTSD victims to build a strong relationship with their therapist -- which is key to treatment success. Second, the drug could help re-balance the dysfunctional relationship between two brain regions seen in people with PTSD. These individuals show excessive activation of the amygdala and less activity in the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)....In a healthy person's brain, the amygdala and vmPFC are in "constant communication,"...but in PTSD the overactive amygdala may overpower the vmPFC, making it much more difficult for a person to control their emotional responses to traumatic memories, while making it harder for them to confront these memories.

The opposite occurs when a person takes MDMA, according to Krebs; his or her amygdala activity is dampened down, while the vmPFC becomes more active. This could help a person feel more in control and better able to revisit traumatic memories, the researchers say.

Finally, Krebs and Johansen say, MDMA boosts the release of norepinephrine and cortisol, brain chemicals that are essential for emotional learning. Sedative drugs like Valium are sometimes given to people with PTSD, the researchers note, and these may actually blunt the effectiveness of therapy by completely wiping out the stress response to fearful memories, which is needed for re-learning to occur.

Full article here.

 

[DeeZire]

What a coincidence. I just came down with a full blown case of PTSD, like, right after I read the quoted article. Time to call the doctor...

 

[john-the-author]

In the early 80s, there was a considerable movement to get MDMA listed as a chemical with therapeutic potential based ion its considerable value in venues like the article describes here. The US in its infinite wisdom refused to consider anything like that and made it a class 1 narcotic, which barred subsequent study. This kind of thing has happened before, unfortunately: LSD was showing considerable value as a treatment for alcoholism in Canada but was declared to be a dangerous drug before anything definitive could be determined and no further research was possible.

 

[3113]

In the early 80s, there was a considerable movement to get MDMA listed as a chemical with therapeutic potential based ion its considerable value in venues like the article describes here. The US in its infinite wisdom refused to consider anything like that and made it a class 1 narcotic, which barred subsequent study. This kind of thing has happened before, unfortunately: LSD was showing considerable value as a treatment for alcoholism in Canada but was declared to be a dangerous drug before anything definitive could be determined and no further research was possible.

*sigh* The U.S. view of drugs is whacked. If it makes you feel god or have visions it has to be made illegal. I wonder if we could correlate this back to our puritanical views of sex...

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

PTSD doesnt exist.