‘Magic Mushroom’ Psychedelic Compound Shows Promise In Treatment of Depression
04/15/21 AT 11:53 AM
A small study done by researchers from London found psychedelic drugs may treat depression just as effectively as commonly prescribed antidepressants.
The results of the six-week study were published on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers conducted a Phase 2 clinical trial that compared the therapeutic doses of psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, with escitalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI).
During the trial, scientists from Imperial College London’s Centre for Psychedelic Research observed the functioning and moods of 59 adults.
Around 40 percent of the group had to be weaned off of the medication they were prescribed to treat their depression before the study began. Of the participants, 30 were given two 25 mg doses of psilocybin three weeks apart and also received daily placebo pills for six weeks.
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Benefits of LSD Microdosing Might Just Be a Manifestation of The Placebo Effect
3 MARCH 2021
For years now, experiments with LSD and other psychedelic drugs have suggested that microdoses of the substances can offer a range of psychological benefits to people, with the potential to help treat depression and other mental health conditions.
The notion that these long-controversial drugs might actually improve people s mental wellbeing, cognition, and creativity was hailed as an exciting new paradigm in medical research – but according to a new study, the supposed benefits of these substances may not be what they seem.
In what s being described as the largest placebo-controlled trial on psychedelics to date, researchers found that the positive psychological effects linked with psychedelic microdosing may just be a manifestation of the placebo effect.
Marc Aspinall
Psychedelic medicine will begin to cross over into the mental health mainstream in 2021. In both Europe and the US, medicines regulators have eased restrictions on using MDMA to treat post-traumatic disorder (PTSD), and on psilocybin – the active substance in magic mushrooms – to treat depression. 2021 will bring new clinical trials, as support for the use of psychedelics in medicine continues to gain momentum.
Clinical research into psychedelics has boomed in the past five years and investors are taking note. The US Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which researches the topic, reached a $30 million (£23 million) fundraising target in 2020, on top of $80m of historical funds. This money will enable the completion of a phase-3 trial in the use of MDMA to treat PTSD, which will be necessary to achieve Food and Drug Administration approval. In the UK, London-based mental-health care company COMPASS Pathways has raised more than $115m to f