Main psychoactive ingredient found in magic mushroom may significantly reduce symptoms of difficult-to-treat depression, found data from the largest clinical trial to date to test the curiously-watched compound.
The mid-stage study, conducted by the London-based and Nasdaq-listed COMPASS Pathway, involved 233 patients with so-called treatment-resistant depression who have failed to benefit from at least two antidepressants.
With psychological support, each participant received a single 25 mg, 10 mg or control 1 mg dose of a synthetic formulation of compound psilocybin.
COMPASS’s compound is believed to target parts of the brain that are associated with processing emotion, said James Rucker, consultant psychiatrist and senior clinical lecturer at King’s College London, who was involved in the study.
Once administered, patients entered a “waking dream-like” state that lasted between four and six hours. Rucker said that people came in the morning, had a psychedelic experience and went back to their baseline state that afternoon or evening.
Data published in a medical journal showed that patients who were given a 25-milligram dose of psilocybin had a statistically low level of sedation. depressive symptoms compared to those with a lower dose three weeks after treatment.
Additionally, about 29% of patients in that group achieved remission on a standardized depression scale.
While these patients have limited treatment options and face stigma about depression, the findings are a step in the right direction, Rucker said.
Psychological ingredients, whether derived from cannabis, LSD or magic mushrooms, have long fascinated mental health researchers. (Photo: Getty Images/Thinkstock)
The trial findings are positive but not spectacular, warned Ravi Das, associate professor at the University College London Institute of Mental Health.
“Each group had a disproportionate number of severely depressed patients; With significantly less severely depressed people in the apparent ‘effective’ (25mg) dosage group. This does not appear to be accepted in the paper. ,
Although patients were enrolled only if they were not considered to be at clinically significant risk of suicide, three participants in the 25 mg group demonstrated suicidal behavior within 12 weeks of treatment.
By studying depression, suicide is going to be a feature of the disease’s course, said Guy Goodwin, chief medical officer for COMPASS Pathways.
“Our hypothesis is that the differences are coincidental … but we can only resolve this by further experimentation.”
Data from two late-stage studies testing the compound, which is also being tested as a treatment for PTSD and anorexia nervosa, could be unveiled as early as the end of 2024, he said.
Existing antidepressants usually take weeks to kick in. Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical concoction of ketamine — the infamous party drug that is also a horse and cat tranquilizer — was approved in 2019.
Psychological ingredients, whether derived from cannabis, LSD or magic mushrooms, have long fascinated mental health researchers. Psilocybin is classified without medicinal value in most areas, which falls in the same category as chemicals such as LSD.
Navigating the complex legal barriers to accessing these compounds has melted the pace of research, but with a growing burden of motivated scientists and poorly treated mental health conditions, the ecosystem of psychedelic research has exploded.
But critics worry that mounting research may encourage unbridled use of non-pharmaceutical versions of these drugs.
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