Psychedelic compound in ecstasy moves closer to approval to treat PTSD

by Guest Tue May 02, 2017 8:36 am

Psychologists have occasionally given people psychedelic drugs such as LSD or magic mushrooms to induce altered states, in an attempt to treat mental illness. Today, many of those drugs are illegal, but if clinical trials testing their efficacy yield positive results, a handful could become prescription medicines in the next decade. The furthest along in this process is MDMA — a drug sold illegally as ecstasy or Molly — which is showing promise in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Last week, at the Psychedelic Science 2017 conference in Oakland, California, researchers presented unpublished results from phase II trials involving a total of 107 people diagnosed with PTSD. The trial treatment involved a combination of psychotherapy and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine).

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviewed these data in November, which were not released to the public at the time. The agency recommended that the researchers move forward with phase III trials, the final stage before potential approval of the drug.

At the conference, researchers affiliated with the non-profit organization that is sponsoring the trials, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in Santa Cruz, California, presented some of their latest resutls. They used a cinically validated scale that assesses PTSD symptoms such as frequency of nightmares and anxiety levels. More than one year after two or three sessions of MDMA-assisted therapy, about 67% of participants no longer had the illness, according to that scale. About 23% of the control group — who received psychotherapy and a placebo drug — experienced the same benefit.

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SOURCE NATURE MAGAZINE

by eddie Tue May 02, 2017 11:57 am

There is something in ecstasy - the make up in the chemicals or a particular chemical - that opens up your mind beyond anything else. I have often wondered why that particular chemical (or chemical blend) has been hidden away and not used to open up the rest of our brains and conscience. People could achieve so much more.

Almost like we are supposed to be kept numb, dumb and stupid.

by HoratioTarr Tue May 02, 2017 3:18 pm

eddie wrote:There is something in ecstasy - the make up in the chemicals or a particular chemical - that opens up your mind beyond anything else. I have often wondered why that particular chemical (or chemical blend) has been hidden away and not used to open up the rest of our brains and conscience. People could achieve so much more.

Almost like we are supposed to be kept numb, dumb and stupid.

Ecstasy releases dopamine and seratonin. Everyone gets all loved up. A whole music culture was created around it. I'd rather be in a club full of pill poppers than drunks any day.

by eddie Tue May 02, 2017 3:52 pm

That isn't what I meant - the loved up bit - I meant it makes your mind work in fantastic ways and ideas just keep coming. You get some notions that are completely unusual and mind-opening.

And yes, alcohol causes far more problems in clubs than ecstasy ever could!

by nicko Tue May 02, 2017 5:04 pm

One of my Daughters friends took two Ecstasy tablets in a club, she died the same night !!

by eddie Tue May 02, 2017 5:50 pm

nicko wrote:One of my Daughters friends took two Ecstasy tablets in a club, she died the same night !!

It's quite rare - and why take two of something? Never understood that.

What did she dive of? Some people die from drinking too much water.

by Raggamuffin Tue May 02, 2017 5:54 pm

eddie wrote:That isn't what I meant - the loved up bit - I meant it makes your mind work in fantastic ways and ideas just keep coming. You get some notions that are completely unusual and mind-opening.

And yes, alcohol causes far more problems in clubs than ecstasy ever could!

Hmmm, you mean people who take it are away with the fairies?

There was an interesting episode of Morse once. A girl killed herself because she took some kind of pill which opened up her mind whereby she thought everything was wonderful, and after that she thought there was nothing more to see, and nothing more to live for. Fiction I know, but mind-altering drugs aren't necessarily a good thing, even if the results are pleasant.

by eddie Tue May 02, 2017 6:04 pm

I'm not saying they're a good think necessarily (although it's interesting to see they're using something similiar for depression) but what they actually do is make you realise how little you know or can feel or can do, when you're not using most of your brain.

So yeah, ecatacy can actually make you yearn for that feeling again.

by HoratioTarr Tue May 02, 2017 6:06 pm

eddie wrote:That isn't what I meant - the loved up bit - I meant it makes your mind work in fantastic ways and ideas just keep coming. You get some notions that are completely unusual and mind-opening.

And yes, alcohol causes far more problems in clubs than ecstasy ever could!

I'd say that was more LSD. Which is why so many famous musicians take it.

by Raggamuffin Tue May 02, 2017 6:09 pm

eddie wrote:I'm not saying they're a good think necessarily (although it's interesting to see they're using something similiar for depression) but what they actually do is make you realise how little you know or can feel or can do, when you're not using most of your brain.

So yeah, ecatacy can actually make you yearn for that feeling again.

What's what makes it potentially dangerous - once is never enough.

It might be useful for some mental health conditions - those with PTSD have probably had enough of reality anyway.

by HoratioTarr Tue May 02, 2017 6:12 pm

nicko wrote:One of my Daughters friends took two Ecstasy tablets in a club, she died the same night !!

It's rare when you compare the statistics to people who die from drink related problems and other drugs... the risks are low. There are various reasons why you die from Ecstasy...contaminants, overheating, over drinking.

by eddie Tue May 02, 2017 6:12 pm

HoratioTarr wrote:
eddie wrote:That isn't what I meant - the loved up bit - I meant it makes your mind work in fantastic ways and ideas just keep coming. You get some notions that are completely unusual and mind-opening.

And yes, alcohol causes far more problems in clubs than ecstasy ever could!

I'd say that was more LSD. Which is why so many famous musicians take it.

Ecstasy - particularly when mixed with amphetamines - will produce the same effects without the visual hallucinations.

by HoratioTarr Tue May 02, 2017 6:17 pm

eddie wrote:
nicko wrote:One of my Daughters friends took two Ecstasy tablets in a club, she died the same night !!

It's quite rare - and why take two of something? Never understood that.

What did she dive of? Some people die from drinking too much water.

Back in the 80's, E was almost pure. Now, it's cut with shit. So, if you get a pill that's cut, the effects don't happen for a while. You think you need to take another, so if you don't know any better, you do.

by Guest Tue May 02, 2017 6:18 pm

eddie wrote:There is something in ecstasy - the make up in the chemicals or a particular chemical - that opens up your mind beyond anything else. I have often wondered why that particular chemical (or chemical blend) has been hidden away and not used to open up the rest of our brains and conscience. People could achieve so much more.

Almost like we are supposed to be kept numb, dumb and stupid.

Its never been hidden away

by Raggamuffin Tue May 02, 2017 6:22 pm

If we're talking about something that slows down the reuptake of neurotransmitters, that would be what antidepressants do, and they get a bad rep these days. In any case, the effect of ecstasy is very much quicker and stronger, so I think it's probably not a safe drug.

by HoratioTarr Tue May 02, 2017 6:45 pm

eddie wrote:
HoratioTarr wrote:

I'd say that was more LSD. Which is why so many famous musicians take it.

Ecstasy - particularly when mixed with amphetamines - will produce the same effects without the visual hallucinations.

MDA has the same effects as LSD and Speed combined. It's often cut into MDMA, which is Ecstasy. It's MDA that's linked to the deaths. The effects take longer to happen, the rush of MDMA is faster, so if you get a pill with MDA in it, you think it's not working.

by HoratioTarr Tue May 02, 2017 6:47 pm

Raggamuffin wrote:If we're talking about something that slows down the reuptake of neurotransmitters, that would be what antidepressants do, and they get a bad rep these days. In any case, the effect of ecstasy is very much quicker and stronger, so I think it's probably not a safe drug.

I don't think any drug is really safe. The come down from Ecstasy can be pretty bad. So, you'd have to take the stuff medically all the time? Perhaps they'll refine it, I dunno. I personally think meditation is a better way to de-stress or aid depression, combined with exercise.

by eddie Tue May 02, 2017 6:52 pm

HoratioTarr wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:If we're talking about something that slows down the reuptake of neurotransmitters, that would be what antidepressants do, and they get a bad rep these days. In any case, the effect of ecstasy is very much quicker and stronger, so I think it's probably not a safe drug.

I don't think any drug is really safe. The come down from Ecstasy can be pretty bad. So, you'd have to take the stuff medically all the time? Perhaps they'll refine it, I dunno. I personally think meditation is a better way to de-stress or aid depression, combined with exercise.

It is, but when you're in that mental state you simply don't have the impetus to get up and do anything.

by Raggamuffin Tue May 02, 2017 6:53 pm

HoratioTarr wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:If we're talking about something that slows down the reuptake of neurotransmitters, that would be what antidepressants do, and they get a bad rep these days. In any case, the effect of ecstasy is very much quicker and stronger, so I think it's probably not a safe drug.

I don't think any drug is really safe. The come down from Ecstasy can be pretty bad. So, you'd have to take the stuff medically all the time? Perhaps they'll refine it, I dunno. I personally think meditation is a better way to de-stress or aid depression, combined with exercise.

At least people who take antidepressants have been diagnosed with depression, and the effect of them is usually gradual and relatively mild compared to Ecstasy. Messing with your neurotransmitters as a way of entertaining yourself is not a good move. One could end up with serotonin syndrome, amongst other bad effects.

by HoratioTarr Tue May 02, 2017 7:03 pm

Raggamuffin wrote:
HoratioTarr wrote:

I don't think any drug is really safe. The come down from Ecstasy can be pretty bad. So, you'd have to take the stuff medically all the time? Perhaps they'll refine it, I dunno. I personally think meditation is a better way to de-stress or aid depression, combined with exercise.

At least people who take antidepressants have been diagnosed with depression, and the effect of them is usually gradual and relatively mild compared to Ecstasy. Messing with your neurotransmitters as a way of entertaining yourself is not a good move. One could end up with serotonin syndrome, amongst other bad effects.

Yeah, look at Bez!

Psychedelic compound in ecstasy moves closer to approval to treat PTSD 000000f9d-bez

by eddie Tue May 02, 2017 7:06 pm

Hahahahaha he just plain whizzed all the way through the 90's and beyond.

by HoratioTarr Tue May 02, 2017 7:06 pm

eddie wrote:
HoratioTarr wrote:

I don't think any drug is really safe. The come down from Ecstasy can be pretty bad. So, you'd have to take the stuff medically all the time? Perhaps they'll refine it, I dunno. I personally think meditation is a better way to de-stress or aid depression, combined with exercise.

It is, but when you're in that mental state you simply don't have the impetus to get up and do anything.

Depression is a terrible thing. My mum suffered from it as does my brother, and I have a very close friend who suffers too. It's easier to take medication than drag yourself out of bed to exercise and keep active...but it does mitigate depression to a degree. I think most people with depression surf along and manage it, but out of the blue they find themselves at the edge of the abyss and that's a terrible place to be.

by HoratioTarr Tue May 02, 2017 7:08 pm

eddie wrote:Hahahahaha he just plain whizzed all the way through the 90's and beyond.

He keeps bees now.

Psychedelic compound in ecstasy moves closer to approval to treat PTSD Bez

by eddie Tue May 02, 2017 8:22 pm

Still buzzing then. Cool

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