World’s first trials of MDMA to treat alcohol addiction set to begin
*woman, 32 years old; alcoholic paralysis…the fingers are in the interosseous position & there is marked degeneration and atrophy of the extensors of the fingers, with the exception of the wrist and thumb.
Twenty patients, recruited through the recreational drug and alcohol services in Bristol, will be given the drug in capsule form during two supervised treatment sessions. The participants will be heavy drinkers – typically consuming the equivalent of five bottles of wine a day – who have relapsed into alcoholism repeatedly after trying other forms of treatment.
“After 100 years of modern psychiatry our treatments are really poor,” said Sessa, speaking at the Breaking Convention conference in London. “The chances of relapse for these patients are really high – 90% at three years. No one has ever given MDMA to treat alcoholism before.” After the patients have undergone physical detox, they will be given two standard therapy sessions without the drug, followed by an all-day session where they are given a high dose of MDMA in capsule form. During this session they will spend some time talking to a therapist and some time lying down with an eyemask in a state of quiet meditation.
Original Article (The Guardian):
World’s first trials of MDMA to treat alcohol addiction set to begin
Artwork Fair Use: St Bartholomew’s Hospital Archives & Museum
