Psychedelics show promise in treating clinical depression: Study
Breccan F. Thies
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Psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound in psychedelic mushrooms, has shown promise as a treatment for clinical depression, according to a study.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that a single 25-milligram dose of psilocybin coupled with psychological support showed “clinically significant sustained reduction in depressive symptoms and functional disability, without serious adverse events.”
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Researchers noted that noticeable improvements for clinical depression, otherwise known as major depressive disorder, were apparent within eight days of the trial and were sustained across six weeks.
The change was also significant, averaging a 12.3-point improvement on a 0-60 scale known as the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, where higher scores indicate more severe depression.
The hallucinogen has been gaining in popularity and potential as a treatment for a variety of mental illnesses and, according to the study, was not associated with the emotional numbness often cited as a side effect of other antidepressant medication.
Other antidepressant medications also have relatively unknown long-term efficacy for improving quality of life. While the National Institutes of Health found that 40% to 60% of people using antidepressants noticed improvement within six to eight weeks of taking them, a Public Library of Science study last year noted that not much is known about what happens after 12 weeks, a typical cutoff point for drug trials.
Researchers in the study found that antidepressants did not significantly improve the quality of life over those who were not taking them, suggesting that long-term benefits of the drugs may not exist. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 13% of the American adult population, or about 44.2 million, take antidepressants.
Psilocybin has shown promise as a treatment in other areas of mental health as well, but research capability is limited because it is also considered a Schedule I substance, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is defined as having “high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.”
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Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) introduced a bipartisan bill in Congress to clear a path for psychedelics to be studied as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill’s co-sponsors include a “really wild coalition,” Crenshaw said, of members across the ideological spectrum, including Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Despite its high medical potential, psilocybin’s use as a recreational drug is also on the rise, which is not coupled with psychological assistance as is the norm for medical use. According to a study from earlier this year, psychedelic use nearly doubled in the past three years.