On July 19, the Journal of Psychopharmacology reported the results of the first randomized, controlled trial of ecstasy, which is known to chemists as 3,4-methylene dioxyme thamphetamine, or MDMA. The study's authors — led by Dr. Michael Mithoefer, a South Carolina psychiatrist — gave MDMA or a placebo to patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) whose condition had not been alleviated by any standard combination of psychotherapy and antidepressants. The new paper showed that ecstasy is not only safe when administered in controlled settings but also remarkably effective in treating PTSD in conjunction with psychotherapy.
Given the controversial nature of their study, the authors write in an all-business tone — the word ecstasy does not appear anywhere in the article. They begin by noting that PTSD is a serious mental-health problem — it is diagnosed in roughly 8% of Americans and as many as 1 in 5 U.S. servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq — and that we have little clue about how to treat it.
Given the controversial nature of their study, the authors write in an all-business tone — the word ecstasy does not appear anywhere in the article. They begin by noting that PTSD is a serious mental-health problem — it is diagnosed in roughly 8% of Americans and as many as 1 in 5 U.S. servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq — and that we have little clue about how to treat it.
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