U.S. researchers say the outlawed drug Ecstasy can help victims of post-traumatic stress recover. The testing by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies in California was limited both in size and duration, but the results were significant enough for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to recently order a much larger study involving U.S. war veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The initial test determined Ecstasy (formally called MDMA) had a dramatic effect on previously untreatable PTSD patients, some who had suffered from the disorder for up to 19 years.
Dr Rick Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies in Santa Cruz, Cal., said his researchers administered medical MDMA to a test group of 12 patients, while a control group of eight patients did not receive the drug. Patients in both groups went through two eight-hour psychotherapy sessions three to five weeks apart. |