Background Anhedonia is a debilitating core feature of mood disorders, and is associated with significant functional impairment and poor quality of life. Psilocybin has recently emerged as a novel antidepressant treatment in MDD, however, its effects on anhedonia specifically have yet to be systematically reviewed. This review evaluates available clinical and pre-clinical research, exploring...
Cluster B personality disorders (PDs) are highly comorbid with depression and are associated with attenuated antidepressant response. No clinical trials to date have reported on psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) in comorbid treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and PDs. This is the first clinical trial to describe a subgroup of ten participants with a comorbid PD ( n = 9 cluster B; n = 1...
Importance Antidepressant efficacy of intravenous (IV) ketamine has been demonstrated in major depressive disorder; however, the efficacy and safety of ketamine for bipolar depression remain largely unknown, with limited data available in this specific population. Objective To evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of adjunctive IV ketamine compared with midazolam for...
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness with high rates of morbidity and stigma; however, successful remission is frequently limited by a paucity of accessible treatment options. In an era of growing interest in psychedelics as novel psychiatric treatment modalities, patients with BPD are often excluded from research due to perceived safety risks, particularly...
Importance: Psychedelic drugs possess acute psychoactive effects that can compromise blinding integrity in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Functional unblinding, when participants or raters correctly identify treatment allocation based on subjective effects, may bias outcomes through expectancy effects, challenging the validity of efficacy estimates and regulatory acceptance. Objective: To...
Anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, is often resistant to conventional treatments and significantly impacts quality of life. This secondary analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) on anhedonia severity in individuals with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Participants (n = 30) with TRD and a primary diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder or...
PAP was associated with modest, short-term improvements in performance on measures of processing speed and executive function among individuals with TRD. While these changes appeared independent of mood, they did not consistently exceed expected practice effects. These findings highlight the need for adequately powered, controlled trials to clarify whether observed cognitive changes reflect...
Background: Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) is a promising treatment for various psychiatric disorders. However, the exact biological and psychological mechanisms of action of PAP remain to be determined. Examining predictors of PAP outcomes may help identify necessary processes for positive treatment outcomes. Mystical experiences are considered a key aspect of the subjective effects...
Objective: To compare changes in depression, anxiety, and suicidality symptoms after a single 25 mg oral dose of psilocybin between treatment-resistant depression participants not on antidepressants at screening to participants that discontinued antidepressant medications leading up to receiving psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP). Methods: Participants (n = 27) received at least one 25 mg...
Depression with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with more severe symptoms and a reduced response to traditional treatments. Although ketamine shows promise as a rapid-acting antidepressant for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), its effectiveness in patients with comorbid PTSD remains underexplored. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 134 patients...
Suicidal ideation is a significant symptom associated with mood disorders. Ketamine is an emerging treatment with rapid and robust antidepressant and antisuicidal effects observed in clinical trial populations. Herein we assessed the real-world effectiveness of ketamine in ameliorating suicidality. A retroactive chart analysis of 96 adult TRD patients that received treatment in a private...
Background: Bipolar II disorder (BD-II) is often associated with chronic and treatment resistant major depressive episodes. Psilocybin has shown promise for its rapid-acting antidepressant effects, though its impact on bipolar depression remains unexplored. In the present subgroup analysis of an already published trial on treatment-resistant depression (TRD), we aimed to preliminarily evaluate...
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) is a promising treatment option for depression, with randomized controlled trials (RCTs) providing preliminary support for its safety and efficacy. However, there is a lack of consistency across existing treatment protocols and psychotherapeutic approaches. The objective of this review is to summarize and compare current psychotherapy methods of PAP in...
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has been associated with antidepressant effects. 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....