Ecstasy used to treat PTSD patients sees success

Ecstasy may be used to help Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) patients.

Researchers in South Carolina found that the purer form of Ecstasy, MDMA, can help treat the mental illness if it is coupled with psychotherapy.

CNN reported that the small study looked at 19 people with PTSD.

Using psychotherapy in combination with the MDMA showed that 14 out of 19 patients saw benefits.

"With such encouraging data, including evidence of long-term effectiveness after only two or three MDMA-assisted psychotherapy sessions, there is now no doubt that this research should be expanded to larger clinical trials," said study author Michael Mithoefer, according to the Daily Mail.

The research group reported that they are now testing the drug-therapy combination on 24 first-responders and military veterans to better understand why MDMA seems to be so effective.

Military suicides in the US are at a 30-year high due to the trauma from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is believed that 1 in 7 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from PTSD.

The research is being undertaken by "MAPS," the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies.

It is the only organization in the world funding clinical trials of MDMA-based psychotherapy

The study was published last month in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.