Cyrosibin, a psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms,” rapidly improves symptoms and provides remission in just two sessions of major patients. depression, New research suggests.
The results of a small randomized trial showed that treatment with psilocybin was associated with a reduction of more than 50% in depressive symptoms in 67% of study participants. In addition, 71% showed improvement after a 4-week follow-up and more than 50% achieved remission.
“The finding that the majority of the people we treated were effective was a very noteworthy and satisfying finding that actually set the stage for psilocybin as a treatment for major depression.” Dr. Roland Griffith, Professor Oliver Lee McCabe III of Neuropsychopharmacology. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland said in a statement.
“Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this as a new treatment is that psilocybin acts as a therapeutic intervention in one or several sessions, after which the effect persists. In contrast, most depression. Traditional treatments are chronic and have chronic side effects, “added Griffith, director of the Johns Hopkins Psychedelic and Consciousness Research Center.
Research Published online November 4th JAMA Psychiatry..
Growing evidence base
So Previously reported, Psilocybin improves depressive symptoms in cancer patients. However, these patients can be considered to have “reactive depression” for life-threatening illnesses, Griffith said.
“This study was built on questions based on previous studies, and urinals are effective in patients with major depressive disorder. [which is] A much larger population? “He said.
In addition, previous studies of psilocybin-assisted therapy had no controls, said Dr. Alandavis, lead author and part-time assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University Psychedelic Research Unit. Medscape Medical News..
Researchers created control conditions by randomly assigning 24 individuals (mean age, 39.8 years)[SD, 12.2 years]67% of women currently experiencing moderate or severe major depression episodes to receive either immediate treatment (IT) (n = 13) or delayed treatment (DT) (n = 11)) ..
Participants have been suffering from depression for many years, averaging 22.4 months in current depression episodes. They had to avoid using other antidepressants for up to 4 weeks before screening and up to 4 months after enrollment.
The patient also needed to be medically stable. No individual / family history of psychosis or bipolar disorder; no alcohol, substance, or nicotine use disorders in the last year.No substantial lifespan or recent use Ketamine Or classic Hallucinogen..
Depression was measured using the DSM-5 structured clinical interview and the GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (GRID-HAMD). Registration required a baseline score of 17 or higher.
Participants had eight preparatory meetings with two session facilitators before the first urinal session, followed by a 2-3 hour follow-up meeting after the urinal session. In addition, they received 13 psychotherapy.
After completing these preparatory sessions, they received two silosibine sessions administered at an average interval of 1.6 weeks.
Participants in the DT group were evaluated for depressive symptoms weekly for 8 weeks prior to entering the treatment protocol.
“Amazing” discovery
Participants in the IT group showed significantly lower depression scores on GRID-HAMD 1 and 4 weeks after the second silosibine session compared to patients in the DT group for the corresponding week.
| group | Baseline average (SD) | 5th week average (SD) | 8th week average (SD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| It | 22.9 (3.6) | 8.0 (7.1) | 8.5 (5.7) |
| DT | 22.5 (4.4) | 23.8 (5.4) | 23.5 (6.0) |
In addition, the effect sizes at 5 and 8 weeks were “large” (d = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.4 – 3.0; and d = 2.6; 95% CI, 1.7 – 3.6, respectively).
An analysis of the results showed that for all 24 participants, 67% and 71% of the participants showed a “clinically significant response” to depressive symptoms 1 and 4 weeks after the psilocybin intervention, respectively. 60% and 56% met the criteria for remission, respectively.
Similarly, in-subject t-test revealed a significant reduction in depression scores from baseline to 1-week and 4-week follow-up ()P <.001; d = 3.6; 95% CI, 2.2 – 5.0; and P <.001; d = 3.6 95% CI, 2.2 – 4.9 respectively).
Importantly, the participants did not experience any serious adverse effects.
Griffith said he was “surprised” by the findings. “We knew that psilocybin was effective for the disease-related types of reactive depression, but we didn’t know that this was the case for many individuals eligible for MDD. [major depressive disorder],” He said.
“It represents a significant effect of this treatment among people with major depressive disorder, about four times as effective as antidepressant studies,” Davis said. ..
Davis said psychotherapy is an “essential” element of the research protocol. “The combination of psychotherapy and silocibin makes this treatment effective, and it always has a psychotherapeutic component and may not be approved by the FDA as an independent drug.”
Turning point
Comments on the study of Medscape Medical News, Colin Leif, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, published in “One of the Most Influential Journals” of the Study because Psychedelic is “still stigmatized.” Said that. In all of psychiatry, psychiatric research is currently mainstream, suggesting that the academic psychiatry research community is paying close attention to what is happening. He described this as a “turning point.”
Reiff, who was not involved in the study, said that research on psychedelic compounds had been underway until the 1960s, saying, “They left the lab and became mainstream, withdrawal of research for the next 30 years and subsequent dormancy. Connected. 40 years “
The Psychedelics study “has been skeptical after the Renaissance, but it’s important to take the time to do this so that it doesn’t repeat what happened in the 1960s,” Reiff said. Said.
so Ancillary editorialCharles F. Reynolds III, MD, a professor of geriatric psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said, “Psychedelic-assisted psychiatry is appropriate (or not appropriate), especially in patients with depression. I asked a person.Is a suicide that has a history of suicide Try it. “
Reynolds, who is also the director of UPMC’s Institute for Aging, who was not involved in the study, wrote: “To personalize the management of depression, we need to understand multiple situations in which depression occurs, including genetic, developmental, psychosocial, and depression. Cultural, medical, and neurocognitive. , And spiritual. “
The study was supported by a crowdsourcing campaign sponsored by Tim Ferriss and a grant from the Riverstyx Foundation. The Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research is funded by the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation and supported by Tim Ferriss, Matt Mullenweg, Craig Nerenberg, and Blake Mycoskie.It is also supported by a grant from the National Institute Substance abuse.. Davis received support from the National Institute of Substance Abuse. Griffith was partially supported by a NIDA grant. Disclosures of other authors can be found in the original article. Reiff reports that it owns a stake in Compass Pathways. Reynolds reports that there is no relevant financial relationship.
JAMA Psychiatry.. Published online on November 4, 2020. Full text, editorial
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