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Home/Research/MDMA/Eating Disorders

MDMA for Eating Disorders

3 papers and 2 clinical trials exploring mdma as a treatment for eating disorders.

Compoundempathogen

MDMA

MDMA is a synthetic empathogen that enhances monoamine release, producing prosocial and anxiolytic effects without frank hallucinosis. Two Phase III trials demonstrated significant PTSD symptom reductions, though FDA review raised concerns about blinding, durability, and safety characterisation.

Full MDMA profile
Indication16 million people worldwide.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, affect approximately 16 million individuals globally. The exploration of psychedelics, such as psilocybin and MDMA, as potential treatments for these conditions is a burgeoning field of research, showing promise in alleviating symptoms and improving quality of life.

Full Eating Disorders profile

Academic Research

3 papers
Open Accessmeta

Neuroimaging in psychedelic drug development: Past, present, and future

This review (2023) discusses the emerging field of psychedelic therapy for psychiatric disorders, emphasizing the potential of classic serotonergic psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD and substances like ketamine, MDMA, and ibogaine. It highlights the role of advanced neuroscientific research methods, particularly neuroimaging using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), in advancing the understanding of drug and therapy effects on the brain. The article identifies key knowledge gaps, including the relationship between acute and longer-term effects, the precise characterization of effects at the 5-HT2A receptor, and the impact of these compounds on neuroplasticity, and proposes a roadmap for future research to address these questions through multimodal PET/MRI studies.

Published
September 27, 2023
Journal
Molecular Psychiatry
Authors
Wall, M. B., Harding, R., Zafar, R., Rabiner, E. A., Nutt, D. J., Erritzoe, D.
Paywallmeta

MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

This review (2022) makes the cases for using MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) in the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD). The authors draw parallels between using MDMA-AT to treat disorders similar to BPD, such as PTSD, and provide considerations for designing future clinical trials.

Published
October 25, 2022
Journal
Focus
Authors
Traynor, J. M., Roberts, D. E., Ross, S., Zeifman, R., Choi-Kain, L.
Open Accessindividual

MDMA-assisted therapy significantly reduces eating disorder symptoms in a randomized placebo-controlled trial of adults with severe PTSD

This trial (n=90) used the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) to assess the impact MDMA-assisted therapy has on symptoms of eating disorders (ED) in participants with PTSD. There was a significant reduction in total EAT-26 scores in the total group of PTSD participants following MDMA-AT versus placebo (p = .03). Overall, MDMA-AT significantly reduced ED symptoms compared to therapy with placebo among participants with severe PTSD.

Published
May 1, 2022
Journal
Journal of Psychiatric Research
Authors
Brewerton, T. D., Wang, J. B., Lafrance, A., Mithoefer, M. C., Emerson, A., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B.

Clinical Trials

2 trials
Not yet recruitingPhase I

MDMA Assisted Therapy for BN

This Phase I, randomised, open-label, parallel-group trial (n=40) will evaluate MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for adults with bulimia nervosa, with the main aim of assessing changes in binge eating episode frequency, alongside symptoms, body image, weight, retention, acceptability, motivation and safety. Participants will be assigned to one of three groups: MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT), MDMA-assisted therapy specific to bulimia nervosa (MDMA-AT-BN), or standard treatment. Both MDMA groups will receive 3 experimental medicine sessions 3 weeks apart, plus 9 integrative psychotherapy sessions over 10 weeks; these will be followed by 12 weekly psychotherapy sessions, either non-specific eating disorder therapy or bulimia nervosa-specific therapy depending on arm. The standard treatment arm will receive weekly therapy sessions for 22 weeks. Assessments are planned from screening and baseline through intervention, with a final follow-up at 6 months after baseline.

Started
May 1, 2026
Type
interventional
Blinding
none
Randomized
Yes
Registry ID
NCT07542145
WithdrawnPhase II

A Multi-Site Study of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for Eating Disorders

Open-label Phase II multi-site study (n=18) assessing three sessions of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (80–120 mg oral MDMA with supplemental half-doses) with preparatory and integrative therapy and caregiver involvement in female participants with AN‑R or BED.

Started
June 1, 2023
Type
interventional
Blinding
none
Randomized
No
Registry ID
NCT04454684

Explore further

Search all MDMA papers Search all Eating Disorders trials Full MDMA profile Full Eating Disorders profile