In a new study from Imperial College London, researchers found that psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, may be at least as effective as a leading antidepressant medication.
They compared two sessions of psilocybin therapy with a six-week course of a leading antidepressant (a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor called escitalopram) in 59 people with moderate-to-severe depression.
They found that while depression scores were reduced in both groups, the reductions occurred more quickly in the psilocybin group and were greater in magnitude.
In the study, 59 volunteers with moderate-to-severe depression received either a high dose of psilocybin and a placebo, or a very low dose of psilocybin and escitalopram.
People treated with psilocybin showed marked improvements across a range of subjective measures, including in their ability to feel pleasure, and express emotions, greater reductions in anxiety and suicidal ideation, and increased feelings of wellbeing.
Remission rates were twice as high in the psilocybin group than the escitalopram group.
The psilocybin group also reported fewer cases of dry mouth, anxiety, drowsiness and sexual dysfunction than the escitalopram group, and a similar rate of adverse events overall.
Headaches experienced one day after dosing sessions were the most common side effect of psilocybin.
The team says these results comparing two doses of psilocybin therapy with 43 daily doses of one of the best performing SSRI antidepressants help contextualise psilocybin’s promise as a potential mental health treatment.
They highlights that while the findings are generally positive, the absence of a straight placebo group and the small number of participants limits conclusions about the effect of either treatment alone.
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The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. One author of the study is Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris.
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