Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a rare but debilitating chronic pain condition with a complex and poorly understood pathophysiology, making diagnosis and treatment challenging. Diagnosis is by exclusion, and the Budapest diagnostic criteria have helped standardize definitions, but the underlying pathways remain unclear. Two types exist: CRPS type 1 (no neuronal injury) and type 2 (with neuronal injury). Management ranges from non-invasive therapies like physical and psychological therapy to invasive options such as dorsal root ganglion stimulation and amputation. Multimodal treatment is ideal, but more research is needed to understand CRPS development and to conduct robust clinical trials for therapies.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among U.S. veterans. Standard treatments include trauma-focused psychotherapies and antidepressant medications such as SSRIs and SNRIs. MDMA, a psychoactive compound classified as a Schedule I controlled substance since the 1980s, has reemerged as a potential therapy. Before prohibition, psychotherapists used it for various psychiatric conditions. Recent randomized, controlled trials support MDMA as an effective pharmacological adjunct to psychotherapy for PTSD.