United States: A recent research reveals that the main ingredient in magic mushrooms may have potent antidepressant properties. In reducing depressive symptoms, psilocybin worked better than a range of “control” therapies, according to study published May 1 in the BMJ.
Promising Findings
These control groups were given niacin (vitamin B) supplements, microdoses of psychedelics, or sham drugs.The research team, led by Athina-Marina Metaxa, a master’s student in the University of Oxford’s Department of Medicine in the United Kingdom, concluded, “This review’s findings on psilocybin’s efficacy in reducing symptoms of depression are encouraging for its use in clinical practice as a drug intervention for patients with primary or secondary depression, particularly when combined with psychological support and administered in a supervised clinical environment.”
Superiority Over Controls
According to background notes from academics, the estimated 300 million individuals globally who suffer from depression have seen a nearly 20% increase over the last ten years. After one or two doses, psilocybin has demonstrated promise in lowering symptoms of depression; it also has minimal adverse effects and no discernible risk of addiction, according to researchers.
Supporting Data
A team in the United Kingdom looked reviewed data from seven clinical studies involving 436 individuals with depression in order to give an overview of the current state of the field. The data indicate that psilocybin considerably improved depression scores more than any of the control therapies.
Researchers discovered that individuals with co-occurring mental illnesses, such as depression, and those who had previously taken psychedelics, benefited greatly from psilocybin therapy.
The researchers noted that a distinct pattern for prior psychedelic use had surfaced: the greater the percentage of research participants with psychedelic use history, the stronger the effect of psilocybin therapy.
Call for Further Evidence
But according to academics, additional proof is required to establish psilocybin’s antidepressant properties. Researchers noted that in order to evaluate prospective expenses as well as potential efficacy, “real-world” data is also required.
Psilocybin is usually administered to trial participants under the supervision of a psychotherapist in a quiet living room with calming music; this is not how standard medical settings work.
Complex Challenges Ahead
According to the researchers, “the combination of these elements makes this a relatively complex and expensive intervention, which could make it challenging to gain reimbursement from insurance companies and other sources as well as regulatory agency approval.”
They said, “The high cost of the intervention also raises the possibility that unlicensed clinics may try to cut costs by altering the therapeutic process and the protocol, which could have negative effects on patients.”