WEDNESDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- The drug ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also known as ecstasy, appears to be effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) without evidence of harming patients, according to research published online July 19 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Michael C. Mithoefer, M.D., a psychiatrist in private practice in Mount Pleasant, S.C., and colleagues randomly assigned 20 patients with chronic PTSD that was refractory to psychopharmacology and psychotherapy to receive MDMA or placebo administered in conjunction with two eight-hour experimental psychotherapy sessions.

The researchers found that the 12 patients who received MDMA had significantly greater decreases in scores on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale than did placebo recipients each time it was administered after baseline (four days after each psychotherapy session and two months after the second session). In fact, after completing the trial, 83 percent of the active group no longer met clinical criteria for PTSD, compared to 25 percent in the placebo group. There were no reports of adverse neurocognitive effects, clinically significant blood pressure increases, or other serious adverse events related to the MDMA.

"MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can be administered to PTSD patients without evidence of harm, and it may be useful in patients refractory to other treatments," the authors write.

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