Note: The trial is only eligible for citizens of Denmark. The purpose of this project is to assess the treatment efficacy of a single high dose of psilocybin administered within a protocol of psychological support to patients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD). To establish efficacy, we will investigate a single dose of psilocybin versus placebo in a ...
Psilocybin is a molecule with significant potential for the treatment of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse. In this study, it was explored the extraction of psilocybin from Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms using a factorial design approach, along with the physicochemical and phytochemical characteri...
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a highly prevalent disorder with limited therapeutic options. The central amygdala (CeA) is a critical brain region as dysregulation within the CeA and the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system are associated with AUD pathology. CeA CRF1 receptors regulate alcohol drinking and have served as a therapeutic target in alcohol...
Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Severe Alcohol Use Disorder: Protocol for a Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, 7-month Parallel-Group Phase II Superiority Trial A substantial proportion of patients with alcohol use disorder does not respond to available treatments, which calls for the development of new alternatives. In parallel, psilocybin-assist...
The use of psilocybin to treat alcohol use disorder is very promising, but its mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. We combined behavioural, pharmacological and gene expression analyses to decipher the mechanisms of action of psilocybin, for the first time, when injected into the brain. Male Long Evans rats underwent chronic operant ethanol self-ad...
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms have antidepressant effect, however, their safety in cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure is not fully known and needs to be investigated. Cardiac hypertrophy is an independent risk factor for heart failure morbidity and mortality. Angiotensin II (Ang-II) plays a major role in the pa...
The classical psychedelic psilocybin is of interest as a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). This study investigated the effects of psilocybin on voluntary ethanol consumption in adult male and female C57BL/6J mice administered saline or psilocybin intraperitoneally as a single dose of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mg/kg and provided 20% ethanol utilizing a two...
IntroductionAlcohol use disorder is a difficult-to-treat psychiatric disorder and a major burden on public health. Existing treatment efficacy is moderate, and relapse rates are high. Preliminary findings suggest that psilocybin, a psychedelic compound, can safely and reliably occasion highly meaningful experiences that may spur a positive change in drinking...
BackgroundClinical studies report preliminary therapeutic effects of classic psychedelic drugs in several psychiatric conditions and international drug trends show increased use of these compounds. However, the epidemiology of classic psychedelic drug use in Scandinavian countries remains sparsely investigated. To this end, we investigated the patterns of us...
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, have been used since ancient and recent times for depression and to improve quality of life. However, their anti-inflammatory properties are not known. The study aims at investing cytotoxicity; antioxidant; and, for the first time, anti-inflammatory effects of Psilocybe natalensis, a psilocy...
BackgroundMeta-analysis of randomized studies using lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for alcohol use disorder (AUD) showed large, significant effects for LSD efficacy compared to control conditions. Clinical studies suggest potential anti-addiction effects of LSD and mechanistically-related classic psychedelics for alcohol and other substance use disorders.A...
This case was submitted to the Washington State Patrol Toxicology Laboratory in September 2014. A15-year-old male went to a party where he ingested 25I-NBOMe and mushrooms. A short time later, he started to vomit and began seizing until he eventually passed out. Resuscitation efforts were made, but were unsuccessful. He was transported to a local hospital, w...
Sixty years ago, the ethnomycologist R. G. Wasson discovered an ancient mushroom cult in Oaxaca, Mexico.1, 2 The famous mycologist R. Heim classified the psychoactive mushroom species in the genera Psilocybe and the eminent natural product chemist Albert Hofmann published the isolation, structural elucidation and synthesis of the new alkaloids psilocybin and...
Despite the widespread application of drug modelling in psychiatric research, the relative value of different models has never been formally compared in the same analysis. Here we compared the effects of five drugs (cannabis, psilocybin, amphetamine, ketamine and alcohol) in relation to psychiatric symptoms in a two-part subjective analysis. In the first par...
Simultaneous polysubstance use (SPU) is a common phenomenon, yet little is known about how various substances are used with one another. In the present study 149 drug-using university students completed structured interviews about their use of various substances. For each substance ever used, participants provided details about the type, order and amount of ...
Introduction: It has been accepted that acute toxicity of psilocin is low and this substance does not create a serious health hazard. Few symptoms observed after intake of Psilocybe mushrooms were mostly limited to the Central Nervous System. Material and methods: In order to readdress the supposed low toxicity and relative safety of natural hallucinogens, w...
The occurrence and extraction of indole derivatives in six species from four genera of higher fungi were investigated. By using pure methanol for extraction of the mushrooms analysis revealed the highest concentrations of psilocybin and baeocystin. The psilocin content of the species was higher by using aqueous solutions of alcohols than with methanol alone ...
Among poisonous mushrooms, a small number may cause serious intoxication and even fatalities in man. Humans may become symptomatic after a mushroom meal for rather different reasons: (1) ingestion of mushrooms containing toxins, (2) large amounts of mushrooms may be hard to digest, (3) immunological reactions to mushroom-derived antigens, (4) ingestion of mu...
