Clinical pharmacist
2017
Psilocybin, a psychoactive component of magic mushrooms, is thought to have therapeutic potential in psychiatric disorders but its mechanism of action within the brain is unclear. In a study, researchers gave two doses of psilocybin to 19 patients with treatment-resistant depression, and studied blood flow within the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at […]
Asian Journal of Psychiatry
December 1, 2016
Suravi Patra
Psilocybin, the clinically most researched classic psychedelic has recently been tested for its safety and efficacy in a clinical population of treatment resistant depression. The efficacy of psilocybin in clinical depression previously demonstrated in the elecrophysiologic and neuroimaging findings as also in neuropsychological assessments is further validated by the findings of this...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 30, 2016
Stephen Ross, Anthony P. Bossis, Jeffrey Guss et al.
1,699 citations
Background: Clinically significant anxiety and depression are common in patients with cancer, and are associated with poor psychiatric and medical outcomes. Historical and recent research suggests a role for psilocybin to treat cancer-related anxiety and depression. Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, 29 patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression were...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 30, 2016
Annie Umbricht, Mary P Cosimano, Roland R. Griffiths et al.
2,174 citations
Cancer patients often develop chronic, clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety. Previous studies suggest that psilocybin may decrease depression and anxiety in cancer patients. The effects of psilocybin were studied in 51 cancer patients with life-threatening diagnoses and symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. This randomized, double-blind, cross-over trial investigated the...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 18, 2016
James Rucker, Luke A. Jelen, Sarah Kalen Flynn et al.
187 citations
Unipolar mood disorders, including major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), confer high rates of disability and mortality and a very high socioeconomic burden. Current treatment is suboptimal in most cases and there is little of note in the pharmaceutical development pipeline. The psychedelic drugs, including lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin, were used...
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
October 27, 2016
Ananya Mahapatra, Rishi Gupta
37 citations
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring alkaloid, pharmacologically similar to the classic hallucinogen lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Although primarily used as a recreational drug or an entheogen in particular cultural settings, recent population based studies have shown that it does not lead to serious physical or mental health problems or dependent use. In view of recent work demonstrating...
Psychiatria i Psychologia Kliniczna
September 30, 2016
Karolina Dydak, Mariola Śliwińska‐mossoń, Halina Milnerowicz
2 citations
Psylocybina jest substancją psychodysleptyczną pochodzenia naturalnego, występuje w grzybach rodzaju Psilocybe. Psychodysleptyki są środkami psychoaktywnymi, które silnie wpływają na percepcję, nastrój i procesy poznawcze człowieka. Psychodeliczne działanie psylocybiny opiera się na pobudzaniu receptorów serotoninergicznych, co prowadzi do wzrostu stężenia serotoniny w mózgu oraz przyczynia się...
PSYCH up2date
September 8, 2016
Fazit Die vorliegende Studie gibt erste Hinweise auf eine Wirksamkeit von Psilocybin bei chronischen Depressionen. Weitere positive Effekte dieser Substanz konnten bereits in anderen Zusammenhängen nachgewiesen werden. Bei nun nachgewiesener, guter Machbarkeit, motivieren die Autoren zu weiteren kontrollierten Studien mit diesem Wirkstoff.
The Lancet Psychiatry
May 17, 2016
Philip J. Cowen
13 citations
“Alice remained looking thoughtfully at the mushroom for a minute, trying to make out which were the two sides of it; and as it was perfectly round, she found this a very difficult question”. To resolve the issue, Alice ate the mushroom; in more recent times, however, experimentation with psilocybin-containing magic mushrooms has been strongly discouraged. In the UK, in 2005, magic mushrooms...
The Lancet Psychiatry
May 17, 2016
Robin Carhart-Harris, Mark Bolstridge, James Rucker et al.
1,546 citations
BACKGROUND: Psilocybin is a serotonin receptor agonist that occurs naturally in some mushroom species. Recent studies have assessed the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for various conditions, including end-of-life anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and smoking and alcohol dependence, with promising preliminary results. Here, we aimed to investigate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy...