Scientists are calling for more experiments on ecstasy to identify if it could be accepted for medical use.
The illicit drug promotes strong feelings of empathy in users and is classified as a Schedule 1 drug, a category reserved for compounds with no medical acceptance and a high abuse potential. But two researchers are calling for a rigorous scientific exploration of the drug’s effects to identify how it works. They say the data could be used to develop therapeutic compounds.
"We've learned a lot about the nervous system from understanding how drugs work in the brain--both therapeutic and illicit drugs," said Robert Malenka, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at Stanford University. "If we start understanding MDMA's molecular targets better, and the biotech and pharmaceutical industries pay attention, it may lead to the development of drugs that maintain the potential therapeutic effects for disorders like autism or PTSD but have less abuse liability."
Ecstacy is described as an "empathogen," a compound that promotes feelings of empathy and close positive social feelings in users. The drug is a strictly regulated Schedule I compound, along with drugs such as heroin and LSD. However, MDMA's regulated status shouldn't discourage researchers from studying its effects, argue Malenka and co-author Boris Heifets, also at Stanford.
Researchers still don't know exactly how ecstasy works in humans, what regions of the brain it targets, or all of the molecular pathways it affects. Malenka and Heifets don't condone the drug's recreational use but say that scientific study to uncover its mechanisms could help explain fundamental workings of the human nervous system--including how and why we experience empathy.
Early clinical cases and a small trial in 2013 also showed some use for ecstasy as a treatment during therapy for patients with PTSD, possibly aiding patients in forming a stronger bond with a therapist.
"Studying the response of the brain and nervous system to any drug is no different than running an animal through a maze and asking how learning and memory work, for example," Malenka said. "You're trying to understand the different mechanisms of an experience. Drugs like MDMA should be the object of rigorous scientific study, and should not necessarily be demonized.”
Malenka's team has already begun preliminary studies to test ecstasy's effects in mice, and is writing a proposal to the National Institute on Drug Abuse for a larger project in concert with researchers who plan to tackle the human aspects of the study. Studies using ecstasy have to go through many rounds of paperwork and follow stringent safety measures to get approval.
