Autism Patients' Social Life May Benefit From Ecstasy

First Posted: May 27, 2015 11:51 AM EDT
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Health officials are continually looking to help more severe forms of mental illness that do not always have the best treatments. In fact, in the last decade, some researchers have looked at using certain illicit substances in last resort cases, including severe forms of bipolar disorder, severe depression and other issues.

New findings published in the journal Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry show that researchers are planning to study the application of the first pilot study of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of social anxiety in adults with autism.

Researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies are working to calculate the therapeutic effects of MDMA and how they might potentially help patients struggling socially with this issue.

"Conventional anti-anxiety medications, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), MAOIs, and benzodiazepines, lack substantial clinical effectiveness in autistic adults," the study authors noted, in a news release. .

Lead study author Alicia Danforth said the MDMA used in the study is safer than Ecstasy and Molly because it's pure, according to The New York Daily News, adding that street pills could be particularly harmful and a mix of different ingredients. In fact, Danforth noted that in a laboratory setting, the pure form of Ecstasy has rarely shown serious side-effects. It wasn't until the 1970s and 1980s that the version of the street drug gained infamy for fueling all-night parties, resulting in a ban under federal law. 

"We're not looking to affect any of the course or trace of autism," Danforth added via The New York Daily News. "We're looking to help individuals who are sometimes held back from living life to the fullest." 

To find participants for the double-blind study, researchers screened people with autism for "rigorous criteria," including two years of college, in which they found 12 subjects over the age of 21 that would be divided into two groups, with one group of eight subjects receiving MDMA and the control group of four subjects receiving an inactive placebo. All subjects would undergo two separate treatments sessions spaced approximately one month apart while study results are expected within 12 to 15 months.

"Informed understanding of the facts about MDMA, a psychotherapeutic compound known to enhance prosocial behaviors, is as relevant to clinicians, researchers, the public, and policymakers now as in any earlier point in its history," the researchers said, in the review.

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