A single dose of a hallucinogenic chemical found in magic mushrooms can dramatically reduce symptoms of intractable depression, according to the largest ever study of its kind.
Around a third of patients given a 25mg dose of a synthetic form of psilocybin, along with psychological support, were in remission three weeks later.
All had failed to respond to traditional antidepressant treatments.
In the international trial, 233 patients were allocated to one of three different doses of a manufactured psilocybin called COMP360.
They also had support from a therapist to prepare them for the six to eight-hour hallucinogenic ‘trip’, which was clinically supervised. A further session after drug treatment cemented the experience.
Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that patients receiving 25mg of psilocybin, the highest dose in the study, had the greatest response, with a significant reduction in the severity of symptoms within a day of treatment.
There was still a clinical effect 12 weeks after the trip, though this was not statistically significant.
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The manufacturers of the drug, COMPASS Pathways, will start a larger trial by the end of the year to confirm the durability of the effect and more precisely assess adverse reactions. More than seven out of 10 patients in the current study reported side effects such as nausea, dizziness and fatigue.
Professor Guy Goodwin, chief medical officer of the company and emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, said: “We saw positive results in a particularly difficult to treat group of patients, and the highest dose had the greatest impact on people’s depression.
“This suggests that COMP360 psilocybin has a true pharmacological effect, a finding that is critical for it to be recognised as a new treatment option in the future.”
‘Re-wiring…
Source : skynews
