Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41947855›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2026

Inflammatory biomarker outcomes associated with MDMA-assisted therapy: an open-label exploratory study.

Jenna E Kachmarik, Jennifer M Loftis, Christopher S Stauffer

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05961527 (An Open-Label Feasibility and Safety Study of MDMA-Assisted Group Therapy for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05961527 phase1 / phase2completednot on this map

An Open-Label Feasibility and Safety Study of MDMA-Assisted Group Therapy for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans

TypeinterventionalSponsorPortland VA Research Foundation, IncRan2023 to 2025Enrolled23ConditionsPTSDArmsMDMA, Group Therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Jenna E KachmarikVA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.
Jennifer M LoftisVA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.
Christopher S StaufferVA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with elevated inflammation and risk for chronic illness, yet few studies have examined inflammatory biomarker outcomes of PTSD interventions. Rapid PTSD symptom reduction has been observed following 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy, which leverages MDMA as a prosocial adjunct to psychotherapy. No studies have evaluated inflammatory biomarker outcomes of MDMA-assisted therapy. This exploratory pilot study examined within-person changes in inflammatory biomarkers during MDMA-assisted group therapy for Veterans with PTSD (www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT05961527). Methods: Blood plasma samples were collected from 23 Veterans at baseline and end-of-intervention. Hedges' g effect sizes were calculated for interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP). PTSD severity was assessed with the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) at baseline and 30-day follow-up. Spearman's rho correlations were calculated among biomarkers, PTSD symptoms, and change scores. Results: Small increases were observed in IL-6 ( Conclusion: Findings suggest MDMA-assisted therapy may modulate inflammatory biomarkers and highlight biomarker-symptom relationships. Results are preliminary but may inform larger studies.

Indexed as

CRPIL-6inflammationinflammatory markersMDMAposttraumatic stress disorderTNF-αveterans

Identifiers

PMID41947855
PMCPMC13050828

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.