The Use of Psilocybin in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders with Attention to Relative Safety Profile: A Systematic Review
Andrew Hodge, Suporn Sukpraprut‐braaten, Matthew R Narlesky, Robert Strayhan
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs February 28, 2022 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2022.2044096 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 76 |
| Population | Articles screened from PubMed |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Topics | Anxiety MDMA Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Adverse effect Depression economics Population Pharmacology Environmental health |
| Citations | 47 |
| Key findings | Oral psilocybin produces statistically significant reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms over time versus control and reduces cigarettes per day and drinks per day in patients with substance use disorders, with no significant adverse clinical events or verifiable recorded deaths reported. |
Abstract
There has been a reemergence of research into the use of substances such as LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. This increase in consideration toward the medicinal use of these compounds has been termed the "Psychedelic Renaissance." This article specifically explores the background of psilocybin, a psychoactive compound that is naturally derived from certain species of fungi. Pubmed was searched by one doctoral-level researcher using specific Boolean operator terms. The results were filtered by title and abstract and 76 articles were screened and analyzed in full detail. Oral psilocybin is showing itself to be clinically efficacious by producing statistically significant reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms over time versus control in multiple clinical trials. It has also been shown to reduce cigarettes per day and drinks per day in patients with substance use disorders. Thus far, there have been no significant adverse clinical events from psilocybin and there also have been no verifiable recorded deaths reported. Larger studies need to be performed before the drug can potentially become approved for use in the general population.