In a new study published in the journal Med, psilocybin was found to be safe and effective in combatting treatment resistant depression.
Dried psilocybin mushrooms.
Titled Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for treatment resistant depression: A randomized clinical trial evaluating repeated doses of psilocybin, the study was conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto, McMaster University and Queens University.
“Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has been associated with antidepressant effects”, states the study’s abstract. “Trials to date have typically excluded participants with complex presentations. Our aim was to determine the feasibility of PAP in a complex population, including high levels of treatment resistance in major depressive and bipolar disorder and patients with baseline suicidality and significant comorbidity.
Researchers “evaluated flexible repeated doses over a 6-month period.”
For the study, adults with treatment-resistant depression as part of major depressive or bipolar II disorder without psychosis or a substance use disorder were eligible to participate. Subjects were randomized to immediate treatment or waitlist control, with all eventually receiving PAP.
Participants had one, two, or three psilocybin sessions with a fixed dose of 25 mg. Each dose was accompanied by preparation and integration psychotherapy sessions.
“Adverse events were transient, with no serious adverse events. Greater reductions in depression severity as measured by the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) were observed in the immediate treatment arm compared to the waitlist period arm with a large hedge’s g effect size of 1.07 (p < 0.01)”, found the study’s researchers. “Repeated doses were associated with further reductions in MADRS scores compared to baseline.”
The study concludes by stating that “PAP was feasible in complex patients with preliminary antidepressant efficacy and adequate safety and tolerability. Repeated doses were associated with greater reductions in depression severity.”
A study published last month in the journal Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience found that psilocybin “could prove to be revolutionary in treating depression and become an alternative medication to SSRI”.
