4 ms·

To the extent that anyone on HN knows an active philanthropist looking for potentially highly impactful but severely underfunded causes - send them this article

by arikr 9y ago

To the extent that anyone on HN knows an active philanthropist looking for potentially highly impactful but severely underfunded causes - send them this article. I believe there's a case that funding MDMA research has very high dollar/impact returns - or at least that it's likely enough that it's worth a thorough exploration. It sounds like they still need to raise about $10-15 million, which is shockingly small compared to the ~$1.5bn/yr NIMH budget - and all of it will come from private philanthropists, as governments aren't yet willing to fund the work and for-profit companies don't see much profit yet due to the lack of patentability. If you're on HN and this is the first you're hearing about this research, some resources: - A short video excerpt from a documentary on MDMA therapy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9iKx2MKS70 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9iKx2MKS70 - NY Times article - https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/us/ptsd-mdma-ecstasy.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/us/ptsd-mdma-ecstasy.html

andrewtbham 9y ago
This video is also really compelling. https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/29/5594872/ecstatic-states-can-an-illegal-drug-treat-ptsd https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/29/5594872/ecstatic-states-c...
tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
I'll never forget taking MDMA for the first time. I immediately recognized how useful it could be in a therapeutic setting. You suddenly gain an almost perfect willingness to delve into the worst parts of your own psyche with no hesitation or fear. It's incredible.
vmchale 9y ago
>I believe there's a case that funding MDMA research has very high dollar/impact returns - or at least that it's likely enough that it's worth a thorough exploration. Sort of? I'm sure there's potential, but you pay a lot of your grant money to DEA licenses. Also, MDMA might be neurotoxic.
- arikr 9y ago
  How impactful spending $ is should be measured by the outcomes and whether there was a cheaper/faster way to spend $ to achieve a similar outcome with a similar level of risk, not by whether achieving that outcome required spending $ on necessary compliance. Re neurotoxicity - neurotoxicity should definitely be explored, though more important seems to be does it negatively impact someones life - are the less happy, less smart, etc. https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/10report/chap02e.pdf https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/10report/chap02e.pdf > Studies clearly indicate that alcohol is neurotoxic Though apparently alcohol has minimal consequences in safe doses. Same thing appears to be true of MDMA. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3053129/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3053129/ > In a study designed to minimize limitations found in many prior investigations, we failed to demonstrate marked residual cognitive effects in ecstasy users.
- SamUK96 9y ago
  MDMA _is_ neurotoxic. Very much so too. I'm a little busy at the moment to link to it, but there were a few studies years ago that did tests on chimps, finding ultimately that MDMA gradually destroys neuron synapse receptors. You could say that MDMA "wears out" the seratonin receptors on the neuron synapses, i think is how the MSM phrased it from the studies... Overall this causes a lot of problems, since, well, synapses are very important! Mood, memory, motor function. You simply just get "generally more brain damaged" in all areas. If you've ever seen a problematic user of amphetamines, it's quite obvious. Microdosing, even though slightly neurotoxic, maybe have benefits that outweigh it, a bit like the addiction and general very slight brain damage that comes with Xanax and the like.
  - anythingnonidin 9y ago
    Read: https://www.mdmawiki.org/wiki/Is_MDMA_Neurotoxic%3F https://www.mdmawiki.org/wiki/Is_MDMA_Neurotoxic%3F Also the "mormon study" linked above is a good one to check out. Short answer: > "High and/or frequent doses of MDMA have been shown to be neurotoxic in laboratory animals.7 However, no properly controlled studies have shown cognitive impairments in human users after a period of abstention long enough to rule out temporary effects of MDMA, polydrug use, and a partying/unhealthy lifestyle." From https://rollsafe.org/how-to-take-mdma/ https://rollsafe.org/how-to-take-mdma/ Also: > “I am slightly reassured,” Baggott said, “that we haven’t seen an obvious epidemic of mental health problems despite thirty years of widespread MDMA use. But we absolutely still need to consider potential neurotoxicity when considering giving MDMA to people.”15 > MDMA researcher Matthew Baggott: “To the best of my understanding, doses around 1.5-1.7 mg/kg MDMA (roughly 100 to 125 mg MDMA) are unlikely to cause long-lasting serotonin changes. Studies by MAPS have looked for changes in mental abilities after people participated in their studies, with some participants receiving 125 mg followed by 62.5 mg, and have not found any changes.” MAPS study protocol involves 3 - 5 week breaks, and a total of 2 or 3 MDMA sessions in total. From https://rollsafe.org/mdma-side-effects/ https://rollsafe.org/mdma-side-effects/

by arikr 9y ago

andrewtbham 9y ago

This video is also really compelling. https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/29/5594872/ecstatic-states-can-an-illegal-drug-treat-ptsd https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/29/5594872/ecstatic-states-c...

tenaciousDaniel 9y ago

I'll never forget taking MDMA for the first time. I immediately recognized how useful it could be in a therapeutic setting. You suddenly gain an almost perfect willingness to delve into the worst parts of your own psyche with no hesitation or fear. It's incredible.

vmchale 9y ago

>I believe there's a case that funding MDMA research has very high dollar/impact returns - or at least that it's likely enough that it's worth a thorough exploration. Sort of? I'm sure there's potential, but you pay a lot of your grant money to DEA licenses. Also, MDMA might be neurotoxic.

arikr 9y ago
How impactful spending $ is should be measured by the outcomes and whether there was a cheaper/faster way to spend $ to achieve a similar outcome with a similar level of risk, not by whether achieving that outcome required spending $ on necessary compliance. Re neurotoxicity - neurotoxicity should definitely be explored, though more important seems to be does it negatively impact someones life - are the less happy, less smart, etc. https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/10report/chap02e.pdf https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/10report/chap02e.pdf > Studies clearly indicate that alcohol is neurotoxic Though apparently alcohol has minimal consequences in safe doses. Same thing appears to be true of MDMA. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3053129/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3053129/ > In a study designed to minimize limitations found in many prior investigations, we failed to demonstrate marked residual cognitive effects in ecstasy users.
SamUK96 9y ago
MDMA _is_ neurotoxic. Very much so too. I'm a little busy at the moment to link to it, but there were a few studies years ago that did tests on chimps, finding ultimately that MDMA gradually destroys neuron synapse receptors. You could say that MDMA "wears out" the seratonin receptors on the neuron synapses, i think is how the MSM phrased it from the studies... Overall this causes a lot of problems, since, well, synapses are very important! Mood, memory, motor function. You simply just get "generally more brain damaged" in all areas. If you've ever seen a problematic user of amphetamines, it's quite obvious. Microdosing, even though slightly neurotoxic, maybe have benefits that outweigh it, a bit like the addiction and general very slight brain damage that comes with Xanax and the like.
- anythingnonidin 9y ago
  Read: https://www.mdmawiki.org/wiki/Is_MDMA_Neurotoxic%3F https://www.mdmawiki.org/wiki/Is_MDMA_Neurotoxic%3F Also the "mormon study" linked above is a good one to check out. Short answer: > "High and/or frequent doses of MDMA have been shown to be neurotoxic in laboratory animals.7 However, no properly controlled studies have shown cognitive impairments in human users after a period of abstention long enough to rule out temporary effects of MDMA, polydrug use, and a partying/unhealthy lifestyle." From https://rollsafe.org/how-to-take-mdma/ https://rollsafe.org/how-to-take-mdma/ Also: > “I am slightly reassured,” Baggott said, “that we haven’t seen an obvious epidemic of mental health problems despite thirty years of widespread MDMA use. But we absolutely still need to consider potential neurotoxicity when considering giving MDMA to people.”15 > MDMA researcher Matthew Baggott: “To the best of my understanding, doses around 1.5-1.7 mg/kg MDMA (roughly 100 to 125 mg MDMA) are unlikely to cause long-lasting serotonin changes. Studies by MAPS have looked for changes in mental abilities after people participated in their studies, with some participants receiving 125 mg followed by 62.5 mg, and have not found any changes.” MAPS study protocol involves 3 - 5 week breaks, and a total of 2 or 3 MDMA sessions in total. From https://rollsafe.org/mdma-side-effects/ https://rollsafe.org/mdma-side-effects/