Frontiers in Psychiatry
February 9, 2023
Kees Kramers, Arnt Schellekens, Metten Somers et al.
119 citations
A systematic review of psilocybin-assisted therapy for substance use disorders identified four clinical trials (six articles) involving 151 patients, with doses from 6 to 40 mg. Three studies focused on alcohol use disorder and one on tobacco use disorder. In a pilot study (n=10), heavy drinking days decreased significantly. In another single-arm study (n=31), 32% achieved complete alcohol abstinence over an average of 6 years. A double-blind, placebo-controlled RCT (n=95) found significantly fewer heavy drinking days with psilocybin versus placebo. In a pilot study (n=15), smoking abstinence at 26 weeks was 80% and at 52 weeks 67%. All trials indicated beneficial effects, but larger RCTs are needed.
CNS Drugs
October 1, 2024
Anton Gomez-Escolar, Daniel Folch-Sanchez, Joanna Stefaniuk et al.
16 citations
Mental health disorders and substance use disorders (SUDs) contribute greatly to the global burden of disease. Psychedelics, including entactogens and dissociative substances, are being explored for SUD treatment but have less clinical evidence than for depression or PTSD. This narrative review discusses current research, therapeutic potential, and safety of psilocybin, LSD, ketamine, MDMA, and ibogaine in SUD treatment. It provides a balanced overview of potential benefits and harms in clinical settings, highlights the need for more research, and points out limitations and challenges to be addressed in future studies.
Current Psychiatry Reports
December 1, 2024
Daan de Jonge, Pim B. van der Meer, Cornelis Kramers et al.
2 citations
A narrative review of psilocybin- and LSD-assisted treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) finds growing evidence that psilocybin produces a sustained reduction in drinking frequency among people with AUD, and a recent meta-analysis shows psilocybin therapy yields a large and consistent decrease in depressive symptoms compared to no treatment. AUD and MDD frequently co-occur, and this comorbidity worsens symptoms of both disorders and complicates treatment. The authors argue that an integrated therapy addressing both conditions simultaneously could benefit such patients and call for more research on psilocybin in this dual-diagnosis population.
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
October 13, 2025
Pim B. van der Meer, Sebastiaan O Verboeket, Arjen J. C. Slooter et al.
NMDA receptor antagonists like ketamine may help treat catatonia. This systematic review evaluated the efficacy and safety of ketamine and esketamine for catatonia, finding that the available evidence suggests these drugs could be beneficial, but the data are limited and further research is needed to confirm their role.
Psychedelic Medicine
October 8, 2025
Pim B. van der Meer, Nout Schukking, Miranda G. Dik et al.
A systematic review of clinical trials found limited evidence that psychoactive tryptamines other than psilocybin and ibogaine are effective for treating substance use disorders. Four trials involving 176 patients with alcohol use disorder tested dipropyltryptamine and diethyltryptamine. Abstinence rates ranged from 10% to 38% at 26 weeks of follow-up, and severity of alcohol use did not differ between the tryptamine and control groups. Adverse effects were poorly reported. The review concludes that studies are scarce and show limited evidence for effectiveness in treating addictive disorders.