Newly published research suggests that psilocybin could be as effective as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in treating depression.
Imperial College London-research compared psilocybin to escitalopram, a leading antidepressant.
Fifty-nine patients with long-term moderate to severe major depressive disorder entered the Phase 2, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial over a six-week period.
The age of the patients ranged from 18 to 80. Thirty were assigned to the psilocybin group and 29 to the escitalopram group.
Both groups were instructed to take one capsule each morning. The psilocybin group received a placebo while the escitalopram group received a standard dose of the antidepressants.
Those in the psilocybin group also received two doses of 25 milligrams of psilocybin, three weeks apart, over two supervised sessions, with support from registered psychiatrists.
After six weeks, each group self-reported similar improvements on the standardized scale, Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, with the psilocybin group doing slightly better, but the difference was not statistically significant.
“Psilocybin therapy appears to be at least as effective as a leading conventional antidepressant and works faster with a reassuring safety profile when delivered by professional therapists. A larger study with a pure placebo condition would have further helped clarify the results and our interpretation of them," said study author Robin Carhart-Harris.
“The next big question is, 'How will psilocybin therapy hold up in a large licensing trial?'” said Carhart-Harris. “These are necessary before the regulatory authorities of medicine can make a decision on whether or not to approve psilocybin therapy as an approved treatment for depression. "
Single dose of psilocybin already effective
Been one before study which began in 2016 that a single dose of psilocybin was effective for several years in reducing the effects of anxiety and depression.
“Most participants (71 to 100 percent) attributed positive life changes to the psilocybin-assisted therapy experience, rating it as one of the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives,” the authors reported in a follow-up last year. up, published in the Journal of Pharmacology.
Sources including DazedDigital (link), Psychedelic Review (link),PsyPost(link), TheGrowthOP (link)
