Two doses of psilocybin may relieve symptoms of depression for up to 12 months

Previous studies by Johns Hopkins medical researchers have shown that psychedelic treatment with psychedelics relieves the symptoms of major depressive disorder in adults for up to a month. Currently, in a follow-up study of these participants, researchers say that the substantial antidepressant effect of psilocybin-supported therapy given with supportive psychotherapy may last at least one year for some patients. I am reporting.

A report on the new study was published on February 15, 2022. Journal of Psychopharmacology..

Our findings add evidence that, under carefully controlled conditions, this is a promising therapeutic approach that can lead to a significant and lasting improvement in depression. “

Natalie Gucassian Doctor of Medicine, Associate Professor Psychiatry And Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

However, she said, “The results we see are in the research environment and require considerable preparation and systematic support from trained clinicians and therapists, and people should try it for themselves. Don’t do that. “

Over the last two decades, there has been increasing research on classical psychedelics (pharmacological class compounds containing psilocybin, a component of so-called magic mushrooms). According to the National Institute of Substance Abuse, psilocybin can cause perceptual changes that can change a person’s awareness of their surroundings, thoughts and emotions. Treatment with psilocybin has shown promise in a research environment for treating a variety of mental health disorders and addictions.

For this study, the researchers recruited 27 participants with a long-term history of depression. Most of them experienced symptoms of depression for about two years before recruitment. The average age of the participants was 40, 19 was female, 25 was white, one was African-American, and the other was Asian. Eighty-eight percent of participants were previously treated with standard antidepressants, and 58% reported using antidepressants in their current episode of depression.

After screening, participants were randomized to one of two groups and received intervention immediately or after an 8-week waiting period. At the time of treatment, all participants were provided with a 6-8 hour preparatory meeting with two treatment facilitators. Following preparation, participants received two doses of silocibin given approximately every two weeks between August 2017 and April 2019 at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Behavioral Biology Research Center. received. Participants returned for follow-up one day and one week after each session, and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the second session. Twenty-four participants completed both the silosibin session and all follow-up assessment visits.

Researchers report that treatment with psilocybin in both groups resulted in a significant reduction in depression, with depression remaining less severe 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment. did. Depressive symptoms were measured before and after treatment using the standard GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, a standard depressive rating tool. A score of 24 or higher indicates severe depression, moderate depression of 17-23, mild depression of 8-16, and 7 or lower. There is no depression. For most participants, the overall treatment score decreased from 22.8 before treatment to 8.7 at 1 week, 8.9 at 4 weeks, 9.3 at 3 months, 7 at 6 months, and 7.7 at 12 months. .. Participants showed a stable response rate to treatment and symptom remission throughout the follow-up period, with 75% response and 58% remission in 12 months. This suggests that it may be a unique and useful new treatment for depression, “says Roland Griffith, Ph.D., Dr. Oliverly McCabe III, Professor of Consciousness, Neuropsychopharmacology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The doctor says. Founding Director of the Johns Hopkins Psychedelic and Consciousness Research Center. “Compared to standard antidepressants that must be taken for long periods of time, psilocybin may permanently relieve the symptoms of depression with one or two treatments.”

Researchers emphasize that further research is needed to explore that potential. Effectiveness of Psilocybin treatment can be substantially longer than 12 months. Johns Hopkins is one of the sites of a national multisite randomized placebo-controlled trial of psilocybin for major depressive disorder.

Other researchers who have contributed to this study are Alan Davies, Frederick Barrett, Mary Koshimano, Nathan Sepeda, and Mathew Jonson of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The study was partially funded by a crowdsourcing campaign sponsored by Tim Ferriss and funding from the Reversetics Foundation and Dave Morin. Support from Alan Davis and Natalie Gucasyan was provided by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (T32DA07209, National Institute of Substance Abuse). Author support was also provided by the Psychedelics and Consciousness Research Center, funded by the Stephen and Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Tim Ferriss, Matt Mullenweg, Craignerenberg, and Blake Mycoskie. Funders did not play a role in designing studies, collecting and analyzing data, or making decisions about publishing or preparing manuscripts.