MDMA is a safe and effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in a racially and ethnically diverse population, according to the results of a study published Thursday in Nature Medicine. The research adds to the growing body of evidence supporting MDMA as a treatment for PTSD, and brings the psychedelic one step closer to potentially becoming the first to obtain Food and Drug Administration approval.
The Phase 3 trial found that after 18 weeks of treatment, participants with moderate to severe PTSD who received MDMA reported significant improvements in their symptoms, showing a mean reduction of 24 points in symptom severity compared to a 15-point reduction for the placebo group. Nearly half the participants in the MDMA group met criteria for remission, compared to about 1 in 5 in the placebo group. All participants in the study also received psychotherapy in conjunction with MDMA or placebo.
“The results are exciting,” said Thomas Insel, a neuroscientist and former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, who was not involved with the study. “These effects are notably greater than reported for the two SSRIs that have been approved by FDA for PTSD.”