ArticlePsychopharmacology2021
Discontinuation of medications classified as reuptake inhibitors affects treatment response of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It has been retracted, and should not be counted. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Drug-drug interactions between psychiatric medications and MDMA or psilocybin: a systematic review.Psychopharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of discontinuation of serotonergic antidepressants prior to psilocybin therapy versus escitalopram for major depression.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Trial
- Acute Effects of Psilocybin After Escitalopram or Placebo Pretreatment in a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study in Healthy Subjects.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2022Trial
- Psychedelic Therapist Sexual Misconduct and Other Adverse Experiences Among a Sample of Naturalistic Psychedelic Users.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- The Psychedelic Future of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- Neuroimaging and the Investigation of Drug-Drug Interactions Involving Psychedelics.Neuroscience insights · 2024Article
- Methylone is a rapid-acting neuroplastogen with less off-target activity than MDMA.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- Enhancing Psychological Interventions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Treatment with Memory Influencing Drugs.Current neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- Serotonin toxicity of serotonergic psychedelics.Psychopharmacology · 2022Review
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for Social Adaptability in Autistic Adults.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2022Article
- Using a MDMA- and LSD-Group Therapy Model in Clinical Practice in Switzerland and Highlighting the Treatment of Trauma-Related Disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Methylone, a rapid acting entactogen with robust anxiolytic and antidepressant-like activity.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Effects of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine on Conditioned Fear Extinction and Retention in a Crossover Study in Healthy Subjects.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Retraction · 2024-08-10Concerns/Issues about Data · Concerns/Issues about Human Subject Welfare · Conflict of Interest · Ethical Violations by Author · Investigation by Journal/Publisher · Lack of IRB/IACUC Approval and/or Compliance · Objections by Author(s) · · see also: https://www.statnews.com/2024/08/11/mdma-ptsd-lykos-maps-retractions/
- Retracted
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleMDMA-assisted psychotherapy is under investigation as a novel treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The primary mechanism of action of MDMA involves the same reuptake transporters targeted by antidepressant medications commonly prescribed for PTSD.
objectivesData were pooled from four phase 2 trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. To explore the effect of tapering antidepressant medications, participants who had been randomized to receive active doses of MDMA (75-125 mg) were divided into two groups (taper group (n = 16) or non-taper group (n = 34)).
methodsBetween-group comparisons were made for PTSD and depression symptom severity at the baseline and the primary endpoint, and for peak vital signs across two MDMA sessions.
resultsDemographics, baseline PTSD, and depression severity were similar between the taper and non-taper groups. At the primary endpoint, the non-taper group (mean = 45.7, SD = 27.17) had a significantly (p = 0.009) lower CAPS-IV total scores compared to the taper group (mean = 70.3, SD = 33.60). More participants in the non-taper group (63.6%) no longer met PTSD criteria at the primary endpoint than those in the taper group (25.0%). The non-taper group (mean = 12.7, SD = 10.17) had lower depression symptom severity scores (p = 0.010) compared to the taper group (mean = 22.6, SD = 16.69). There were significant differences between groups in peak systolic blood pressure (p = 0.043) and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.032).
conclusionsRecent exposure to antidepressant drugs that target reuptake transporters may reduce treatment response to MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.