Ecstasy Trials For Combat Stress
By David Adam - Science Correspondent - The Guardian - 21 February
2005
American soldiers traumatised by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan
are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free them of flashbacks
and recurring nightmares.
The US food and drug administration has given the go-ahead for the
soldiers to be included in an experiment to see if MDMA, the active
ingredient in ecstasy, can treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
Scientists behind the trial in South Carolina think the feelings
of emotional closeness reported by those taking the drug could help
the soldiers talk about their experiences to therapists. Several
victims of rape and sexual abuse with post-traumatic stress disorder,
for whom existing treatments are ineffective, have been given MDMA
since the research began last year.
Michael Mithoefer, the psychiatrist leading the trial, said: "It's
looking very promising. It's too early to draw any conclusions but
in these treatment-resistant people so far the results are encouraging.
"People are able to connect more deeply on an emotional level
with the fact they are safe now."
He is about to advertise for war veterans who fought in the last
five years to join the study.
According to the US national centre for post-traumatic stress disorder,
up to 30% of combat veterans suffer from the condition at some point
in their lives.
Known as shell shock during the first world war and combat fatigue
in the second, the condition is characterised by intrusive memories,
panic attacks and the avoidance of situations which might force
sufferers to relive their wartime experiences.
Dr Mithoefer said the MDMA helped people discuss traumatic situations
without triggering anxiety.
"It appears to act as a catalyst to help people move through
whatever's been blocking their success in therapy."
The existing drug-assisted therapy sessions last up to eight hours,
during music is played. The patients swallow a capsule containing
a placebo or 125mg of MDMA - about the same or a little more than
a typical ecstasy tablet.
Psychologists assess the patients before and after the trial to
judge whether the drug has helped.
The study has provoked controversy, because significant doubts remain
about the long-term risks of ecstasy.
Animal studies suggest that it lowers levels of the brain chemical
serotonin, and some politicians and anti-drug campaigners have argued
that research into possible medical benefits of illegal drugs presents
a falsely reassuring message.
The South Carolina study marks a resurgence of interest in the use
of controlled psychedelic and hallucinogenic drugs. Several studies
in the US are planned or are under way to investigate whether MDMA,
LSD and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can
treat conditions ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder to anxiety
in terminal cancer patients.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1416073,00.html
|
