9 Jun 2021

Landmark study finds MDMA-assisted therapy can help post traumatic stress

From Nine To Noon, 9:20 am on 9 June 2021

A landmark study in the United States has found the drug MDMA or ecstasy - when linked with talk-therapy - can help people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

90 people took part in the clinical trial including combat veterans, victims of mass shootings, and first responders - all with severe PTSD lasting more than 14 years.

Two months after treatment, 67 per cent of the MDMA group no longer qualified for a diagnosis of PTSD, compared with 32 percent of the placebo group.

Kathryn talks with the lead author of the study, Dr Jennifer Mitchell, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco.

Several pills of MDMA (Extasy) on white table distributed by drug dealer

Photo: 123RF