Clinical Trials Highlight Psilocybin’s Effectiveness in Treating Depression and Anxiety

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Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms, could revolutionize the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), according to a new study that analyzed multiple clinical trials.

For the study, researchers from several Chinese institutions, including The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University and Guangzhou Medical University, conducted a systematic review of five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 472 adult patients.

The purpose of the study, according to researchers, “was to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of psilocybin in adult patients with major depressive disorder.”

A systematic search (up to September 14, 2023) was conducted for RCTs that examined the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of psilocybin in physically healthy adult patients with MDD. Three independent researchers extracted data from publications where the primary outcome was a change in depressive symptoms, and key secondary outcomes were changes in anxiety symptoms and suicidal ideation, discontinuation rates for any reason, and adverse drug reactions (ADRs).

Five RCTs with 472 adult patients with MDD on psilocybin (n = 274) and controls (n = 198) were included.

“Two of the five RCTs (40%) reported mixed results, while the other three (60%) found that psilocybin had a beneficial effect on MDD treatment”, states the study. “Four RCTs (80%) assessing the anxiolytic effects of psilocybin for treating MDD found that psilocybin was significantly more effective than the control group in improving anxiety symptoms.”

The study found that “Psilocybin was more effective than the control group in improving suicidal ideation in one out of five RCTs. Discontinuation rates were similar for any reason between the psilocybin group (2-13%) and the control group (4-21%) (P > 0.05). Four RCTs (80%) reported ADRs in detail. The most common ADR in both groups was headache.”

The study concludes by stating:

Psilocybin was effective in improving depressive symptoms in over half of the included studies and reduced anxiety symptoms in patients with MDD. The long-term efficacy and safety of psilocybin for MDD treatment needs to be further investigated in large RCTs.

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