FDA’s OK on trial opens possibility of prescription ecstasy in five years

Ars Technica » Scientific Method 2016-12-05

Enlarge / Girl with an ecstasy tablet on her tongue, smiley faced pill, UK 2004 (Photo by Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (credit: Getty | UniversalImagesGroup)

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the first large-scale, phase 3 clinical trial of ecstasy in patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the New York Times reported.

The regulatory green-light follows six smaller-scale trials that showed remarkable success using the drug. In fact, some of the 130 PTSD patients involved in those trials say ecstasy—or 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)—saved them from the devastating impacts of PTSD after more than a decade of seeing no improvement with the other treatment options available.

Currently, the best of those established treatment options can only improve symptoms in 60 to 70 percent of PTSD patients, one expert noted. However, after one of the early MDMA studies, the drug had completely erased all traces of symptoms in two-thirds of PTSD patients.

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