Drug-drug interactions between psychiatric medications and MDMA or psilocybin: a systematic review.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to systematically review existing research on drug-drug interactions between MDMA or psilocybin and psychiatric medications.
Results Summary
The study compiled 40 publications, with 24 focusing on MDMA, describing interactions with various psychiatric drug classes, including adrenergic agents, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, NMDA antagonists, psychostimulants, and antidepressants. The results highlighted pharmacodynamic, physiological, and subjective outcomes of these interactions.
Population
Healthy adults (in randomized controlled studies), epidemiologic study participants, and case report subjects.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
Adrenergic agents, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, NMDA antagonists, psychostimulants, and several classes of antidepressants.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MDMA | neutral | pharmacodynamic, physiological, and subjective outcomes | healthy adults | - | interactions with medications from several psychiatric drug classes | #1 |
psilocybin | neutral | pharmacodynamic, physiological, and subjective outcomes | healthy adults | - | interactions with medications from several psychiatric drug classes | #2 |
RATIONALE & OBJECTIVES: ± 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin are currently moving through the US Food and Drug Administration's phased drug development process for psychiatric treatment indications: posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, respectively. The current standard of care for these disorders involves treatment with psychiatric medications (e.g., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), so it will be important to understand drug-drug interactions between MDMA or psilocybin and psychiatric medications. METHODS: In accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we queried the MEDLINE database via PubMed for publications of human studies in English spanning between the first synthesis of psilocybin (1958) and December 2020. We used 163 search terms containing 22 psychiatric medication classes, 135 specific psychiatric medications, and 6 terms describing MDMA or psilocybin. RESULTS: Forty publications were included in our systematic review: 26 reporting outcomes from randomized controlled studies with healthy adults, 3 epidemiologic studies, and 11 case reports. Publications of studies describe interactions between MDMA (N = 24) or psilocybin (N = 5) and medications from several psychiatric drug classes: adrenergic agents, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, NMDA antagonists, psychostimulants, and several classes of antidepressants. We focus our results on pharmacodynamic, physiological, and subjective outcomes of drug-drug interactions. CONCLUSIONS: As MDMA and psilocybin continue to move through the FDA drug development process, this systematic review offers a compilation of existing research on psychiatric drug-drug interactions with MDMA or psilocybin.