Study identifies MDMA variants that could make therapy safer

The recent blow to MDMA therapy from the FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee (PDAC) has put a dampener on many people’s hopes that the treatment would be approved this August.

While that still may happen, one of the major concerns of the advisory body was the compound’s safety data, and the PDAC has advised that Lykos has not collected enough safety data on the molecule in its trials so far.

Despite this setback in the US, countries such as Canada and Australia have increased legal access to MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in recent years.

However, there are concerns about the safety profile of the drug due to its side effects such as tachycardia, high blood pressure, and liver and nerve damage despite promising studies.

Now, published in the Journal of Neurochemistry, an international research team led by Harald Sitte at MedUni Vienna’s Center for Physiology and Pharmacology has identified three new variants of MDMA as promising alternatives for safer use.

According to the team, the variants – ODMA, TDMA and SeDMA – have been developed to retain the positive effects of MDMA while reducing negative effects.

The studies suggest that the variants impact structures in the brain such as serotonin and dopamine in a similar way to MDMA, but unlike MDMA, they have lower activity at certain serotonin receptors.

Study lead Harald Sitte stated: “This allows the conclusion that both the acute and long-term side effects of ODMA, TDMA and SeDMA may be lower than those of the conventional substance.”

“Since the MDMA analogues also have a weaker interaction with certain transport proteins in the body that are responsible for the absorption and excretion of drugs, the risk of interactions with other drugs could also be reduced,” added first author, Ana Sofia Alberto-Silva.

Sitte continued: “Our experimental results showed that the new variants can retain the therapeutic potential of the conventional substance, but are likely to cause fewer side effects.

“This could advance the controlled use of psychoactive substances in neuropsychiatric illness.”

The authors wrote: “Our findings suggest that these new MDMA bioisosteres might constitute appealing therapeutic alternatives to MDMA, sparing the primary pharmacological activity at hSERT, hDAT, and hNET, but displaying a reduced activity at 5-HT2A/2B/2C receptors and alternative hepatic metabolism. Whether these MDMA bioisosteres may pose lower risk alternatives to the clinically re-emerging MDMA warrants further studies.”