On January 10, 2011, the final long-term follow-up visit was completed in MAPS’ Swiss study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. The final subject (out of 12 total) was interviewed 12 months after the last treatment session, which took place on January 8, 2010. This is the final piece of data that will be collected for the study. The interviewers evaluated the subject to determine whether the effects of the treatment were maintained in the year following treatment, which involved evaluating the subject for symptoms of PTSD using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). The clinical team, led by Principal Investigator Peter Oehen, M.D., and co-therapist Verena Widmer, R.N., will now focus on writing a paper for publication and submitting the final report to SwissMedic. This study, which is part of MAPS’ clinical plan to develop MDMA into a prescription medicine approved by both US and European government regulatory agencies, is our first study using an active placebo dose of 25 mg MDMA. When the final report is completed, we will learn if the active placebo helped us to achieve an effective blind.
MAPS Clinical Research Associate Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D., will be joining the study team in Switzerland to assist with the study closeout, which will take place from February 13-16, 2011, after her work in Israel and Jordan.
