Emory University is poised to expand its research on how MDMA, a psychedelic drug commonly known as ecstasy, could help patients with PTSD when coupled with a proven form of psychotherapy.
The university learned earlier this year that the U.S. Defense Department has recommended a $4.9 million federal grant for its proposed study of post-traumatic stress disorder.
That money will support a new clinical trial that Atlanta-based Emory intends to collaborate on with the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and its Strong Star Consortium, a national research network.
The trial will involve 100 active-duty troops, National Guard troops and reservists. And it will feature a single supervised dose of MDMA — a synthetic drug also called midomafetamine — followed by two weeks of daily prolonged exposure therapy.
MDMA can profoundly alter mood, sensation and suggestibility. Preliminary studies suggest it can also “enhance neuroplasticity and alter emotional memory circuits, which are crucial in processing traumatic memories,” said Barbara Rothbaum, a clinical psychologist at Emory and one of the new study’s investigators.
“It holds a lot of promise,” Rothbaum, who also leads the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, added in an interview Friday. “It is definitely the most exciting thing that I have seen in working with PTSD in years.”
Credit: Jack Kearse
Credit: Jack Kearse
The new trial will build on similar MDMA research by the Emory Brain Health Center, which has seen eight patients so far. The early results of that study, Rothbaum said, are encouraging.
Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve a different form of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, saying further study was needed.
Rothbaum underscored that the Emory Brainn Health Center’s study was approved by the FDA and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and that its patients are being screened for safety. Researchers will seek the same approvals for the newer Defense Department-funded research, she said.
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