The protective effect of DMT against neurodegeneration.
Ede Frecska, Attila Kovács, Attila Szabo
International review of neurobiology 2025 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.04.010 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | DMT |
| Topics | DMT Serotonin |
| Keywords | Alzheimer’s disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Brain ischemia Neurodegenerative disorders Sigma-1 receptor Stroke Neuroprotection neuroprotection Protect the brain Mitigate ischemia-reperfusion injury Dimethyltryptamine dimethyltryptamine |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | DMT may have therapeutic potential for neuroprotection against ischemia-reperfusion injury and neurodegenerative disorders through its action on sigma-1 and serotonin receptors. |
Abstract
This paper explores the therapeutic potential of DMT in neuroprotective strategies, particularly concerning ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) and neurodegenerative disorders. Besides its potent serotonin receptor actions, DMT is also an endogenous agonist of the sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R). Sigma receptors are a unique family of proteins with high expression in the brain and spinal cord and have been involved in the etiology, symptom course and treatment of several central nervous system disorders. Our previous theoretical and experimental work strongly suggest that targeting sigma (and serotonin) receptors via DMT may be particularly useful for treatment in a number of neurological conditions like stroke, global brain ischemia, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In this article, we briefly overview the function of Sig1-R in cellular bioenergetics with a focus on the processes involved in IRI and summarize the results of our previous preclinical (in vitro and in vivo) DMT studies aiming at mitigating IRI and related cellular neuropathologies. We conclude that the effect of DMT may involve a universal role in cellular protective mechanisms suggesting therapeutic potentials against different components and types of IRIs emerging in local and generalized brain ischemia after stroke or cardiac arrest. The multiple neuroprotective mechanisms facilitated by DMT may position it as a model molecule for developing pharmacological treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on DMT, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neuropharmacology of N,N-dimethyltryptamine | 2016 | Review | |
| N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an Endogenous Hallucinogen: Past, Present, and Future Research to Determine Its Role and Function Humans and animals (general) | 2018 | Review | |
| Psychedelic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine: metabolism, pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, and pharmacological actions. Humans (pharmacokinetics) | 2010 | Review | |
| Pharmahuasca: Human Pharmacology of Oral DMT Plus Harmine Human self-experimenters | 1999 | Review | n = 8 |
| The psychedelic model of schizophrenia: the case of N,N- dimethyltryptamine | 1976 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Direct anti-inflammatory actions of N,N -dimethyltryptamine on microglia are revealed by proteomic profiling and receptor pharmacology bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) August 11, 2026
- Translational reinterpretation of ancestral healing rituals: Structured physiological modulation through adaptive biological responses. Explore 2025
Cites 27
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- Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity Cell Reports June 1, 2018
- The Hallucinogen N,N -Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Is an Endogenous Sigma-1 Receptor Regulator Science February 13, 2009
- 5-HT2AReceptor-Mediated Regulation of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor mRNA in the Hippocampus and the Neocortex Journal of Neuroscience April 15, 1997
- Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans Archives of General Psychiatry February 1, 1994
and 22 more in the library