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...
Although pain experiences differed among participants, all participants reported decreased pain with ketamine infusions. Addressing the stigma associated with ketamine infusions, further research around augmenting durability of ketamine, and providing a safe treatment environment can all improve ketamine's benefit for chronic neuropathic pain. Understanding the barriers and facilitators, as...
Emerging evidence suggests that 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy may be a promising intervention for chronic pain. We designed the Ecstasy for Alleviating Severe Chronic Neuropathic Pain (EASE-Pain) trial, a randomized controlled trial comparing MDMA with an active placebo (methylphenidate) for pain relief. We sought to conduct a prospective preference assessment...
The PEACE-PAIN trial study design is supported by patient survey responses but may benefit from modifications, namely incorporating thorough discussions of the current evidence for efficacy, safety, tolerability, and approaches to address adverse effects of psilocybin. Additionally, the interest in participation by individuals with prior psychedelic use holds important methodological...
Chronic pain affects approximately 8 million Canadians (~20%), impacting their physical and mental health while burdening the health care system with costs of upwards of US $60 billion a year. Indeed, patients are often trialed on numerous medications over several years without reductions to their symptoms. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new therapies for chronic pain to improve...
Chronic pain is a public health concern that affects approximately 1.5 billion people globally. Conventional therapeutic agents including opioid and non-opioid analgesics have been associated with adverse side effects, issues with addiction, and ineffective analgesia. Novel agents repurposed to treat pain via different mechanisms are needed to fill the therapeutic gap in chronic pain...
Sandra J Drozdz,1 Akash Goel,1â 3 Matthew W McGarr,4 Joel Katz,3,5â 7 Paul Ritvo,5,7 Gabriella F Mattina,1 Venkat Bhat,8â 10 Calvin Diep,3 Karim S Ladha1,3,10 1Department of Anesthesia, St. Michaelâs Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; 3Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine,...