The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Expanded Access to methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), enabling some patients to undergo treatment before the drug is formally authorized. MDMA, known by the street names Ecstasy and Molly, was developed and patented by E. Merck (now EMD Serono) a century ago. It was used as an empathogen in psychotherapy during the 1970s but was labelled as a Schedule I controlled substance (no medical use) in 1985.
Latest News
MS prognosis – 30-year follow-up
January 22, 2020A 30-year follow-up of patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) reports that MRI findings (lesion location, lesion number) at baseline and at one year were the most robust prognostic factors of long-term outcomes (Chung et al. Ann Neurol 2020;87:63-74). Results at 20 years were previously published as Fisniku et al. Brain 2008;131:808-817.
Targeting amyloid in AD – optimism amid controversy
January 15, 2020The year 2019 had its share of disappointing drug trials in Alzheimer disease, leading many to question whether anti-amyloid therapies were the optimal strategy. But that view may have shifted with controversial developments later in the year. Read More
Antidepressants – mixed scorecard in 2019
December 19, 2019The year 2019 saw two novel antidepressants receive FDA approval amid a series of disappointing phase III trials.