Psilocybin Study: Is Psychedelics As Effective As Antidepressants?

In recent years, there has been emerging evidence that psylocybin, or the active compound in magic mushrooms, can serve as a potentially effective treatment for major depression. On Wednesday, the New England Journal of Medicine added to the study, with a small study from Imperial College London suggesting that psilocibin may be a more effective and equally effective treatment for depression than a common antidepressant.

Led by Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, head of the Center for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, the study had a relatively small sample size of 59 participants, half of whom received psilocybin as treatment and half administered escitalopram is. (better known as the brand name antidepressant Lexapro). The participants then received a questionnaire to report their symptoms.

The authors of the study found that there was no statistically significant difference between the two treatments in terms of overall reduction of depressive symptoms. However, they did find that those who received psilocybine reported a faster reduction in the symptoms of depression than those who received escitalopram, which led researchers to conclude that ‘larger and longer trials are needed to compare psilocybin with established antidepressants. ‘

It is important to note that the study had some limitations, including the small sample size and the methodology of relying only on questionnaires to indicate the reduction of symptoms. The study was also only limited to six weeks, and the full effects of escitalopram tend to start after a few weeks, raising questions as to whether the escitalopram group could have improved if the study had been longer.

But given the historic shortage of studies on psychedelics, largely cut off from government funding for decades, the Imperial College London is contributing to the growing body of evidence that psilocybin may work for treatment-resistant depression, or TRD. It is particularly noteworthy that the psilocybin group has not identified any safety issues compared to conventional treatment, says Corine de Boer, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of MAPS, which is important in educating the public that generally concerned is safety of psychedelics. “The durability of these results needs to be confirmed in a larger one with a longer follow-up, but these results are very promising for the field of psychedelic medicine,” she says Rolling clip.

Todd Korthuis, a professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University and head of their addiction medicine department, agrees that the results of the study may not seem remarkable, but that it is a step in the right direction toward more funding. to encourage. and research. ‘The role of psilocybin in the treatment of depression and other conditions holds great promise, but has underdeveloped evidence to support its use in the current period, ”he says. “This group has conducted a series of very interesting experiments to provide scientific evidence for its use, and that is what the field needs.”

It is particularly noteworthy that the study assessed the effects of psilocybin against an antidepressant rather than placebo, as previous studies have done. ‘They went head to head with probably one of the best accepted medication treatments for depression, and it was found to be minimal, but it improved the score about the same, ”says Korthuis. “It’s not as sexy as if there was a difference between the two treatments, but it does say that psilocybin, which was on the edge and greatly underestimated, is comparable to something that every psychiatrist accepts as normal practice.”

The results of the study are also likely to be a boon for the growing market for psychedelic medical treatments focusing on mental health, which could soon become a $ 100 billion market, according to a recent Business Insider report. “This is an important contribution” to the field of research around psychedelics, says Korthuis.

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