Trial of psilocybin does not show major difference from antidepressant
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update July 5, 2021 DOI: 10.1002/pu.30751 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Patients with moderate to severe depression |
| Interventions | Psilocybin Escitalopram |
| Duration | 6-week intervention |
| Topics | Anxiety Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Antidepressant Escitalopram Significant difference Depression economics Pharmacology Hallucinogen |
| Key findings | Psilocybin did not show a significant difference in antidepressant effects compared with escitalopram over 6 weeks. |
Abstract
A 6‐week study comparing the psychedelic psilocybin with the antidepressant escitalopram found no significant difference in antidepressant effects in patients with moderate to severe depression. Some secondary outcome measures favored psilocybin, but those analyses were not adjusted for multiple comparisons. Study results were published in the April 15, 2021 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine .
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on psilocybin for anxiety, most cited first.