Psilocybin and psilocin research index

The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic-assisted Therapies for Symptom Control in Patients Diagnosed With Serious Illness: A Systematic Review.

ContextPeople affected by serious illness usually experience suffering in its various dimensions, not only in the physical but also in the psychosocial and spiritual aspects. The interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies as a potential new therapeutic modality has increased since evidence suggests a significant impact of their use on the outcomes of patient...

Analysis of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy in Medicine: A Narrative Review.

Psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been consumed by various cultures in many different parts of the world for thousands of years. Psilocybin, a classic psychedelic, contains unique psychoactive properties and has been incorporated into religious ceremonies and investigated for its medicinal value. In the mid-20th century, psilocybin, along with most other ...

Psychedelics hold promise for primary care research

Dear Editor, We are in the midst of a so-called “psychedelic renaissance,” a time of renewed interest in the therapeutic potential of psychoactive drugs such as psilocybin, mescaline, and lysergic acid diethylamide. When they first emerged as topics of academic interest in the mid-20th century, these substances were greeted with exuberance for their apparent...

Raising awareness: The implementation of medical cannabis and psychedelics used as an adjunct to standard therapy in the treatment of advanced metastatic breast cancer

A49-year-old woman was diagnosed with an ER +, PR-, HER2 +, BRCA- invasive ductal carcinoma which progressed metastatically to include bone, liver, and lymph node involvement. Standardised care included a 26-month treatment period with targeted chemotherapy and a ketogenic diet. The patient also began a course of cannabinoid-based therapy, consisting initial...

LSD Treatment in Persons Suffering From Anxiety Symptoms in Severe Somatic Diseases or in Psychiatric Anxiety Disorders: a Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Phase II Study

Background: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was extensively investigated in humans in the 1950s and 1960s. Particularly, LSD attenuated anxiety in patients with cancer. Clinical research with LSD ended in the 1970s due to regulatory restrictions but its use for personal and recreational purposes continued. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest ...

The Safety and Efficacy of Psilocybin in Cancer Patients With Major Depressive Disorder

This is a Phase II, single-center, fixed dose, open label trial to explore the safety, tolerability and efficacy of a 25mg dose of psilocybin in cancer patients with MDD. The study population will include adult men and women, 18 years of age or above, with MDD, diagnosed with a malignant neoplasm. MDD is defined as those who meet DSM5 diagnostic criteria for...

Dose effect of psilocybin on primary and secondary depression: a preliminary systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that psilocybin has antidepressant effects. In the current study, we aim to explore the dose effects of psilocybin on primary (major depression patients) and secondary depression (depressed cancer patients).MethodsPublished studies concerning psilocybin for depression were retrieved. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines,...

The Role of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy to Support Patients With Cancer: A Critical Scoping Review of the Research.

Treatments for addressing psychiatric mental health issues in vulnerable patients with cancer are established. Yet, many patients persist with unrelenting psychological difficulties despite intervention. There is growing interest in the role of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for managing treatment-resistant mental health challenges in patients with cancer...

Use of alternative therapy with Psilocybin in oncologic patients with depression and/or anxiety disorders - integrative review

Cancer is not limited to the physical dimension, but it also affects the entire biopsychosocial context in which the patient is inserted, making him more susceptible to psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. These often require pharmacological intervention, and the use of psilocybin, a substance found in mushroom species, is one of the alterna...

Psychedelics and psychiatric disorders: A emerging role

Introduction Recently there has been renewal in interest of psychedelic research. Classic psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin and mescaline act pharmacologically as agonists at the 5-HT2A receptor. The entactogens like methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), acts as a serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline agonist. All of these dru...

Treating addiction with psychedelics - are we waking up?

Introduction Classic psychedelics have been administered in sacramental contexts since ancient times. They were of prominent interest within psychiatry and neuroscience in the 1950s to 1960s, but the association between classic psychedelics and the emerging counterculture put an end to their research. Modern research with classic psychedelics has reinitiated...

Psychedelics: A new era of treatment?

Introduction Psychedelics - including LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), psilocybin, DMT (N, N-dimethyltryptamine), ayahuasca and mescaline - have an ancient history across various civilizations. In 1950, after LSD’s discovery by Hofmann, psychedelics enjoyed a short-lived relationship with psychiatry, before prohibitive legislature emerging in response to th...

Psychedelic Therapy Hits Another Milestone, But Caution Urged

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Clinical & ResearchFull AccessPsychedelic Therapy Hits Another Milestone, But Caution UrgedNick ZagorskiNick ZagorskiSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:22 Jul 2021https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2021.7.14AbstractPositive findings from a phase 3 trial may have brought MDMA-assisted the...

Psychedelics and health behaviour change.

Healthful behaviours such as maintaining a balanced diet, being physically active and refraining from smoking have major impacts on the risk of developing cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other serious conditions. The burden of the so-called 'lifestyle diseases'-in personal suffering, premature mortality and public health costs-is considerable. ...

The need for publicly funded research on therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs

A psychedelic drug is one that “produces thought, mood and perceptual changes otherwise rarely experienced except in dreams, contemplative and religious exaltation, flashes of vivid involuntary memory, and acute psychosis”1. It does so “without causing physical addiction, craving, major physiological disturbances, delirium, disorientation or amnesia”1. The “...

The Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin.

The psychedelic effects of some plants and fungi have been known and deliberately exploited by humans for thousands of years. Fungi, particularly mushrooms, are the principal source of naturally occurring psychedelics. The mushroom extract, psilocybin has historically been used as a psychedelic agent for religious and spiritual ceremonies, as well as a thera...

Clinical and biological predictors of psychedelic response in the treatment of psychiatric and addictive disorders: A systematic review.

The use of psychedelic treatments has shown very promising results in some psychiatric and addictive disorders, but not all patients achieved a response. The aim of this review is to explore the clinical and biological factors which could predict the response to psychedelics in psychiatric and addictive disorders. A systematic research was performed on MEDLI...

Effects of Psilocybin on Suicidal Ideation in Patients With Life-Threatening Cancer

Associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and markers of physical health.

In recent years, there has been significant research on the mental health effects of classic psychedelic use, but there is very little evidence on how classic psychedelics might influence physical health. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the associations between lifetime classic psychedelic use and markers of physical health. Using data fr...

The Return of Psychedelics: Still Time to Prevent Tragedy

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ViewpointsFull AccessThe Return of Psychedelics: Still Time to Prevent TragedyStanley N. Caroff, M.D.Stanley N. Caroff, M.D.Published Online:31 Mar 2021https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2021.4.8AbstractRecently, a movement reviving psychedelic drugs has emerged among physicians, echoed by activists like M...