The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
July 17, 2026
Ruslan Zinchenko
This editorial highlights the UK's drug regulatory double standards. Drugs for assisted suicide would bypass standard regulation despite limited evidence, while psychedelics face significant barriers despite promising evidence internationally. I argue that drugs for assisted suicide should meet the same regulatory standards, and psychedelics should be rescheduled to enable further clinical...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
July 14, 2026
Ruslan Zinchenko
In this editorial, I examine the parallels between conventional and assisted suicide. Psychedelic therapy has been shown to alleviate end-of-life distress and reduce suicidality. I advocate for rescheduling psychedelics to enable research into their effectiveness as an adjunct to palliative care, prior to institutionalising assisted suicide in the UK.
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
November 3, 2025
Alaina V Burns, Kyle Nelson, Haley Wang et al.
7 citations
Research exploring delusions among individuals with psychosis often focuses on form, rather than content, and on prevalence, rather than change in a cohort over time. While delusional forms are mostly consistent across cultures and historical periods, the content of delusions is shaped by sociopolitical factors. We explored the form and content of delusions in a modern sample of individuals...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
July 11, 2025
Tor-Morten Kvam, Ivar W Goksøyr, Justyna Rog et al.
6 citations
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) has shown promising safety and efficacy in phase 3 studies of post-traumatic stress disorder, but has not been investigated for a primary diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD). We aimed to explore the proof of principle and safety as a first study with MDMA-AT for MDD, and to provide preliminary efficacy data. Twelve...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
May 13, 2025
Shabnam Hossein, Manivel Rengasamy, Aiyedun Uzamere et al.
3 citations
Understanding the effects of ketamine on depressive symptoms could help identify which patients might benefit and clarify its mechanism of action in both the early (≤1 day post-infusion) and late (e.g. 2-30 days post-infusion) post-infusion periods. Symptom network analyses could provide complementary information regarding relationships between symptoms. To identify the effects of ketamine on...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
April 2, 2025
Wei-Chen Lin, Li-Kai Cheng, Tung-Ping Su et al.
2 citations
Evidence suggests the crucial role of dysfunctional default mode (DMN), salience and frontoparietal (FPN) networks, collectively termed the triple network model, in the pathophysiology of treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Using the graph theory- and seed-based functional connectivity analyses, we attempted to elucidate the role of low-dose ketamine in the triple networks, namely the DMN,...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
April 1, 2025
Jesus Montero-Marin, Verena Hinze, Shannon Maloney et al.
4 citations
Personalised management of recurrent depression, considering individual patient characteristics, is crucial. This study evaluates the potentially different mediating role of mindfulness skills in managing recurrent depression using mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) among people with varying depression severity. Data from the Prevention of Depressive Relapse or Recurrence (PREVENT)...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
March 21, 2025
Emmert Roberts
1 citation
There has been substantial recent renewed interest and investment to assess the therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds in addiction disorders. This editorial discusses the available evidence from randomised trials and future research directions in the field, together with potential implications for patients, professionals and the wider addiction treatment system.
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
February 26, 2025
Ziad Saade, Alex S Keuroghlian
2 citations
This article explores the potential of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy to enhance exposure and response prevention in obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment. We discuss the mechanisms of MDMA, including fear extinction, psychological flexibility, and empathogenic effects that may improve adherence and efficacy, as well as highlighting important safety considerations...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
February 1, 2025
Allan H. Young, Pierre-Michel Llorca, Andrea Fagiolini et al.
7 citations
In patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD), the ESCAPE-TRD study showed esketamine nasal spray was superior to quetiapine extended release. To determine the robustness of the ESCAPE-TRD results and confirm the superiority of esketamine nasal spray over quetiapine extended release. ESCAPE-TRD was a randomised, open-label, rater-blinded, active-controlled phase IIIb trial. Patients had...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
January 7, 2025
Natalie T Mills, Stevan Nikolin, Nick Glozier et al.
3 citations
Retracted
Anxiety disorders and treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRD) are often comorbid. Studies suggest ketamine has anxiolytic and antidepressant properties. To investigate if subcutaneous racemic ketamine, delivered twice weekly for 4 weeks, reduces anxiety in people with TRD. The Ketamine for Adult Depression Study was a multisite 4-week randomised, double-blind, active...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
November 1, 2024
Gero Joks, Steve Su, Jarrad King
Regarding the article, 'Efficacy and safety of a 4-week course of repeated subcutaneous ketamine injections for treatment-resistant depression (KADS study): randomised double-blind active-controlled trial', we commend Loo et al for undertaking the Ketamine for Adult Depression Study (KADS). In the interest of ensuring that accurate and balanced information is presented to healthcare...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
October 25, 2024
Kabir Nigam, Franklin King, Fernando Espí Forcén
2 citations
Evidence indicates that ketamine is highly effective, has a lower side effect profile and is better tolerated compared to many augmentation strategies for refractory depression. This, combined with data on psychiatric treatment outcome mediators, suggests that earlier intervention with ketamine could improve outcomes for patients suffering from refractory depression.
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
September 1, 2024
Friederike Holze, Peter Gasser, Felix Müller et al.
32 citations
Anxiety disorders are a major public health burden with limited treatment options. We investigated the long-term safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-assisted therapy in patients with anxiety with or without life-threatening illness. This study was an a priori-planned long-term follow-up of an investigator-initiated, two-centre trial that used a double-blind,...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
August 1, 2019
Álvaro López-díaz, Manuel Murillo-Izquierdo, Elisa Moreno-Mellado
21 citations
Ketamine therapy for treatment-resistant depression in European national health systems may only be considered after attempting all evidence-based antidepressant strategies outlined in clinical guidelines. This paper seeks to explain the ethical, regulatory and procedural framework for the off-label use of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression within a public healthcare system.Declaration...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
2015
Ben Sessa, David Nutt
36 citations
From its first use 3,4,-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has been recognised as a drug with therapeutic potential. Research on its clinical utility stopped when it entered the recreational drug scene but has slowly resurrected in the past decade. Currently there is enough evidence for MDMA to be removed from its Schedule 1 status of 'no medical use' and moved into Schedule 2 (alongside...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
October 2010
Celia J. A. Morgan, Gráinne Schäfer, Tom P. Freeman et al.
The two main constituents of cannabis, cannabidiol and Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), have opposing effects both pharmacologically and behaviourally when administered in the laboratory. Street cannabis is known to contain varying levels of each cannabinoid. To study how the varying levels of cannabidiol and THC have an impact on the acute effects of the drug in naturalistic settings. Cannabis...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
February 1, 2006
Ursula Werneke, Trevor Turner, Stefan Priebe
98 citations
The use of complementary medicines in those with mental health problems is well documented. However, their effectiveness is often not established and they may be less harmless than commonly assumed. To review the complementary medicines routinely encountered in psychiatric practice, their effectiveness, potential adverse effects and interactions. Electronic and manual literature search on the...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
October 1, 1996
Maurice Ohayon, R G Priest, M Caulet et al.
Hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations are common in narcolepsy. However, the prevalence of these phenomena in the general population is uncertain. A representative community sample of 4972 people in the UK, aged 15-100, was interviewed by telephone (79.6% of those contacted). Interviews were performed by lay interviewers using a computerised system that guided the interviewer through the...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
December 1, 1994
T R Dening, G E Berrios
Autoscopy is defined here as a visual experience where the subject sees an image of him/herself in external space, viewed from within his/her own physical body. This paper reviews the literature both historically and conceptually, and includes a quantitative study of accumulated cases. Cases published since 1935 and meeting the above definition for autoscopy (n = 53) were included, together...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
May 1994
M J Martinez-Arevalo, A Calcedo-Ordoñez, J R Varo-Prieto
Data were analysed from 62 schizophrenic patients between 18 and 30 years of age, treated at the community mental health centres in Navarra, who had relapsed and then completed a one-year follow-up study. Factors influencing the course of illness during follow-up were: continuing cannabis consumption; previous cannabis intake; non-compliance with treatment; and stress.
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
August 1, 1993
H Thomas
The usual phenomena of cannabis intoxication include experiences which in a non-intoxicated state would be considered as psychiatric symptoms. These can be distinguished from adverse reactions to cannabis, the commonest of which is an acute anxiety state. Acute psychotic episodes can also follow ingestion of the drug but are infrequent. These can be classified as acute confusional states and...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
November 1, 1992
D C Mathers, A H Ghodse
In-patients with psychotic symptoms and cannabis-positive urine analysis were assessed by PSE within one week of admission and again at one and six months. Concurrently admitted psychotic patients with drug-free urine analysis were controls. At one week the two groups differed significantly on only five PSE items: changed perception, thought insertion, non-verbal auditory hallucinations,...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
July 1, 1990
G Thornicroft
A review of the evidence shows that there is no convincing support for a separate clinical diagnosis of 'cannabis psychosis'. Cannabis can, however, produce brief acute organic reactions and, in moderate to heavy doses, psychotic episodes in clear consciousness. Ingestion in naive users or increasingly heavy use in habitual users can precipitate a schizophreniform episode. Heavy users may have...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
September 1980
S A Checkley, Robin Murray, M C Oon et al.
The excretion of N,N,-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) has been measured in longitudinal studies of five patients with schizophrenic illnesses and in four patients with rapidly or slowly cycling manic-depressive illness. The excretion of DMT was frequently raised in patients when they were psychotic but was usually normal when they had recovered. However, rapid changes in the severity of illness or...