MDMA as a Prescription Antidepressant?

[Powder_Reality]

As we all know, MDMA causes the brain to release a large supply of seretonin, a chemical that can have a direct relation to depression and a wide variety of other mental disorders. My ponderable is whether or not a very small amount of MDMA in the morning (possibly 5-10mg), followed by 100mg or so of 5-HTP could be an effective treatment for such disorders. If a regular dose of MDMA (appx. 100mg) causes such a rapid release of seretonin, perhaps a smaller amount would release enough seretonin to medically help a sufferer of mental disorders where lack of seretonin is thought to be the problem. The 5-HTP would be used to help the brain replenish its supply of seretonin. Of course if this theory were to ever be tested and perfected, the dosage would have to tampered with, as well as figuring out if there would be any side effects (seretonin syndrome, possible neurotoxicity from long-term use, etc.). Any insights on the subject?

[IHrtHalucingens]

To me it seems like a temporary solution to an all to common problem. I dont see this as being a good soultion. It would make you feel good for the couple hours that such a small dose would makea difference, then your body would be left with less serotonin then you started with. I know people vouche for 5-htp but this also seems to just be a temporary solution the the problem caused by the MDMA that you took earlier. PLus tolerance builds so fast with MDMA that one would need increasingly large doses to produce the same uplifting effect. I dont know im just talking out of my ass right now, but i dont think it would be a good idea personally.

Reputation Comments on this post:

You said everything I wanted to say, and put it even better than I could have

[matti_2003]

Yeah it wouldn't work because as IHrtHalucingens says, tollerance builds up meaning it would have no affect after a very short while and after you have taken it you will be lesft with less seritonin than before so will be more depressed.

[Powder_Reality]

Seems like MDMA would be perfect for pharmaceutical companies; their entire industry is based on temporary solutions.

Like Chris Rock says: There ain't no money in the cure, the money's in the medicine. That's how you get paid, on the comeback.

[robin_himself]

Depression should not be sought to be cured with seretonin related drugs. Cause like stated above... its not a solution. Swim would rather advise taking a good dose of MDMA to maybe resolve the problem of the depression trough looking deep into one self.

Depression should be overcome trough insight that the only thing that is making someone depressed is themselves. Nobody tells one to feel depressed and that fact tells us that the problem has to be dealt with ourselves without the help of chemicals. Chemicals and Bio drugs can be used to shine new light on ones reality... but drugs won't just make the problem disappear.

[snapper]

Hahahahaha! That'll be the day.
MDMA would only work in a very intermittent therapeutic context. Tolerance and unknown consequences of long term use would be a problem. Many hallucinogenic and empathogenic drugs could theoretically be used as antidepressants, but most would be unfeasable because of the other effects they have and that at high doses, they become 'recreational' drugs.
Best possibilities would be AMT and AET, since the former already has a history of use in this way at low doses, and tolerance does not build as fast. AET could also be good (by extension - swim has never seen any AET..).

Snapper

[Nagognog2]

a-Ethyltryptamine (AET), supplied as an acetate salt, was used as an anti-depressant in the USA in the 1960's under the brand name Monase - a contraction of MONoamine OxidASE. It is a MAOI inhibitor. Due to some toxicity, it was withdrawn from the market.

Many people have drawn comparisons between a-ET and MDMA in it's effects at high doses of around 150mg. As a result of this, some schmuck began marketing it as a recreational drug - some claimed it to be MDMA - back in the 1980's. Attention brought on it from this led to it's being outlawed as a schedule I controlled substance. As a result, we may never know if smaller amounts might be useful in treating chronic depression. But, like MDMA, the other physical effects of this drug could be troublesome if taken for any length of time. From some experiences I witnessed before it was banned, smaller doses of around 20 - 30mg produced a stimulant effect some compared to a cup of coffee, and a generalized feeling of well-being.

[snapper]

The same has been reported for AMT at 5-10 mg/day. Somewhere there was a thread where someone used it this way and indicated it was the best antidepressant said individual ever took. SWIM can attest to these effects on occasional ingestion.

Snapper

[psyche]

MDMA doens't promote new growth of serotonin receptors, it migh as opposite damage axons, for good who knows. It was, however, very much appreciated by psychotherapeutists for its unbelievable emphatogenic properties. It was said that, was it one week, of treatment with MDMA would correspond to a year of psychotherapy. But then as always, as it gained amazing popularity, it was banned in 1985. They actually criminalized it based on the toxicity found on the MDA with rats, known to be much more toxic.

And in the turn of the century they spreaded flyers stating it could produce parkinsons disease at one try. They had this scary picture of scanned brain and scanned brain after E. Some time later they discovered that Dr. Rigaurte had (intentionally?) used methamphetamine instead of MDMA. He complained about labelling error, but according to some sources there were no error to be found.

[rxbandit]

according to the wired magazine article on MAPS and LSD they are trying to start a study on using MDMA for anxiety in cancer patients... article is here; http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20339

[enquirewithin]

And in the turn of the century they spreaded flyers stating it could produce parkinsons disease at one try. They had this scary picture of scanned brain and scanned brain after E. Some time later they discovered that Dr. Rigaurte had (intentionally?) used methamphetamine instead of MDMA.

In connection with Ricaurte's study, I have always wondered if meth then can produce those scarcy effects on the brain. Not that Ricaurte is at all to be trusted. He has falsified other results too.

[psyche]

In connection with Ricarte's study, I have always wondered if meth then can produce those scarcy effects on the brain. Not tha Ricaurte is at all to be trusted. He has falsified other results too.

He has? If you can memorize some example I'd be interested. I'm not sure about parkinsons disease at one night, but it seems possible. The articles telling about this certainly say that those results would be expected.
Imagine if he used as strong MDMA doses as he dared and the stuff actually was amphetamine which should be used about a half of that dose at most. Some damage should be guarenteed.

[enquirewithin]

The New York Times ran an article about Riacurte's dishonest research methods in 2003.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...51C1A9659C8B63

Dr. Richard J. Wurtman, a prominent clinician at Harvard and M.I.T. who has clashed with Dr. Ricaurte, accused him of ''running a cottage industry showing that everything under the sun is neurotoxic.''

He did this to get 'drug war' grants. Obviously before the truth came out NIDA was very impressed with his 'research' into MDMA-- that was what they wanted to hear.

This is another example of his 'research':

n the 1990's, Dr. Ricaurte was involved in a dispute over the danger of dexfenfluramine, another amphetamine analog sold in Europe as a prescription diet drug.... Ricaurte released a study saying it caused brain damage; that was immediately disputed by an Environmental Protection Agency study that found it did no permanent harm. ... Dr. Molliver called that "a blatant lie," and asserted that he had clearly said he was showing damage done by similar drugs. Dr. Ricaurte agreed.

This is not even a recreational drug-- it lacks interesting effects (but does in fact damage heart valves).

Reputation Comments on this post:

interesting artice