From psychiatry to neurology: Psychedelics as prospective therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders
Urszula Kozłowska, Charles D. Nichols, Kalina Wiatr, Maciej Figiel
Journal of Neurochemistry September 14, 2021 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15509 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Depression Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Neurology Disease |
| Citations | 78 |
| Key findings | Psychedelics may have therapeutic potential beyond MDD and substance use disorders, including for brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases, through mechanisms involving neuroplasticity and immunomodulation. |
Abstract
Abstract The studies of psychedelics, especially psychedelic tryptamines like psilocybin, are rapidly gaining interest in neuroscience research. Much of this interest stems from recent clinical studies demonstrating that they have a unique ability to improve the debilitating symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) long‐term after only a single treatment. Indeed, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently designated two Phase III clinical trials studying the ability of psilocybin to treat forms of MDD with "Breakthrough Therapy" status. If successful, the use of psychedelics to treat psychiatric diseases like depression would be revolutionary. As more evidence appears in the scientific literature to support their use in psychiatry to treat MDD on and substance use disorders (SUD), recent studies with rodents revealed that their therapeutic effects might extend beyond treating MDD and SUD. For example, psychedelics may have efficacy in the treatment and prevention of brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease. Preclinical work has highlighted psychedelics’ ability to induce neuroplasticity and synaptogenesis, and neural progenitor cell proliferation. Psychedelics may also act as immunomodulators by reducing levels of proinflammatory biomarkers, including IL‐1β, IL‐6, and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α). Their exact molecular mechanisms, and induction of cellular interactions, especially between neural and glial cells, leading to therapeutic efficacy, remain to be determined. In this review, we discuss recent findings and information on how psychedelics may act therapeutically on cells within the central nervous system (CNS) during brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases. image
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on psilocybin for depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. General population | 2019 | Integrative review | |
| Molecular Mechanisms of Psilocybin and Implications for the Treatment of Depression | 2021 | Review | |
| Registered clinical studies investigating psychedelic drugs for psychiatric disorders. Registered clinical trials on clinicaltrials.gov evaluating psychedelics for... | 2021 | Review | n = 70 |
| Depression, Mindfulness, and Psilocybin: Possible Complementary Effects of Mindfulness Meditation and Psilocybin in the Treatment of Depression. A Review | 2020 | Review | |
| Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in the Context of Serious Illness. Palliative care clinicians and patients | 2022 | Review |