0665 Ibogaine treatment in combat Veterans significantly improves sleep, beyond alleviating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder symptoms

Abstract Introduction Ibogaine is an indole alkaloid traditionally used in spiritual and healing rites in some African cultures. Ibogaine is primarily studied in the context of substance dependence, but indications suggest it may enhance recovery from trauma. Here, we investigated the effects of ibogaine treatment for multisystem effects of exposure to repeated blasts and combat on self-reported sleep disturbance, insomnia severity, and trauma-related symptoms.

Methods: Participants were Special Operations Veterans who independently and voluntarily underwent ibogaine treatment at a specialized clinic outside the USA. After meeting rigorous screening requirements, 30 participants were enrolled, all endorsing histories of repeated combat and blast exposure and traumatic brain injury. Participants were seen in person for baseline, immediate post-treatment, and 1-month post-treatment assessments, including the Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale (PIRS). Twenty-six participants completed sleep measures at baseline and 1-month post-treatment.

Results: Two-tailed paired samples t-tests revealed significant effects of time, with post-treatment improvements in CAPS (ΔM = -26.8±11.1, t(25) = 12.283, p < .001), PSQI (ΔM = -6.5±5.6, t(25) = 5.920, p < .001), and PIRS (ΔM = -23.8±15.5, t(24) = 7.690, p < .001). However, pre-post changes in PTSD symptom severity were not a significant predictor of improvements in PSQI (R² = .229, b = .354, p = .074) or PIRS (R² = .232, b = .339, p = .090) after controlling for age (p = .206 and p = .165, respectively).

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study examining the effects of ibogaine use on sleep in humans. Results indicated that while sleep and PTSD symptom severity improve 1-month post-treatment, they might be impacted by different mechanisms targeted by ibogaine. Even though a small sample size may have hindered the ability to reach desired probability values, the variance explained by the improvement in PTSD symptoms was still relatively modest (up to 23%). These promising findings demonstrate ibogaine’s therapeutic potential for disturbed sleep in the context of traumatic brain injury and trauma. Potential explanations are discussed. Support (if any) This study was supported by a private fund.