OBJECTIVES: To assess the feasibility, safety and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) for demoralisation in terminally ill patients receiving home hospice care. METHODS: In this open-label pilot trial, 4607 home hospice patients at a large community hospice were screened over 22 months; 66 were approached, 15 enrolled and 10 received ps...
This project will employ functional brain imaging to study the mechanism and immediate and long-term effects of psilocybin, a serotonin receptor 2A agonist, on cortical and cortico-subcortical brain networks in healthy adults. Psilocybin shows promise as a safe, transformational therapeutic across several psychiatric conditions. However, little is know about...
Adolescent depression is a significant public health concern, yet treatment options remain limited, particularly due to age- and sex-related differences in antidepressant efficacy. This study explored for the first time the potential antidepressant-like response of psilocybin in adolescence by examining acute, repeated and persistent effects in Sprague-Dawle...
BACKGROUND: Depression and burnout, which are common among healthcare workers, were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and psilocybin have been reported to reduce depressive symptoms, but the efficacy of the combination requires comparison to an active treatment control. We sought to evaluate the safety and prelim...
Background/Objectives: This study examines the development of clinical trials investigating psilocybin for the treatment of psychopathologies, with a comparative focus on the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). The objective is to identify regional differences in trial progression, research infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks. Methods: A mi...
Introduction Psychoactive Psilocybe spp. mushrooms pose significant public health risks. We report a cluster of Psilocybe keralensis poisonings in Chengdu, China, highlighting its unique clinical features and cardiovascular complications.Case Series Four patients ingested 16-90 g of wild mushrooms (misidentified as an edible species, but later molecularly co...
Introduction In recent years, psychiatry has witnessed a renaissance in the investigation of psychedelic compounds, a broad class of psychoactive substances that induce altered states of consciousness, often characterized by changes in perception, mood, and cognition, which were largely shelved following regulatory crackdowns in the 1970s. The renewed intere...
Background: Cancer poses an existential threat for patients and caregivers. Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has emerged as a potential tool to meet these existential needs, yet little is known about how patients describe this element of their cancer journey, and how it might be affected by PAT, especially in the group therapy context. Purpose: To explore h...
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Psilocybin has emerged as a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD), but early efficacy data are inconsistent. Depression following alcohol detoxification significantly increases the risk of relapse. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy...
The goal of this clinical trial is to test the feasibility of combining meditation with psilocybin microdosing in healthy adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Recruitment and retention feasibility 2. Acceptability, Safety and Tolerability 3. Exploratory Measures: 3.1: Explore potential changes in sleep quality and duration, heart rate variabi...
OBJECTIVES: Psychedelics may be promising treatments for substance use disorders (SUD). This study aims to understand how individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD), opioid use disorder (OUD), and psychiatric disorders perceive and experience psychedelics for both nonmedical and medical use. METHODS: Data for this cross-sectional survey study were collected...
Objectives:This study was conducted to bring psychedelic and biofield science into interdisciplinary dialogue and encourage scientific investigations of psychedelic therapy as a form of energy medicine. In thinking these two sites together, important resonances between both forms of therapy were highlighted which can help elucidate clearer therapeutic mechan...
Background: Although historical writings, anthropological accounts, and experimental studies document associations between psilocybin use and religion, no prospective experimental study has investigated how the effects of psilocybin are experienced and interpreted by religious clergy. This exploratory study evaluated the overall safety and the acute and endu...
This is an interventional, parallel arm assignment treatment study in individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Each individual will be treated with a single dose of pimavanserin or placebo plus a single dose of psilocybin. Evaluations will be taken before dosing and following dosing at several timepoints up to 5 weeks post-dosing. In this study, the...
Objective To evaluate psilocybin's efficacy in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms in cancer patients based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) followed PRISMA and Cochrane Handbook guidelines. PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library data up to July 2024 were analyzed. Two RCTs met the inclu...
Objective: Prior research has found an association between psychedelic use and reduced stigma attached to mental illness. However, whether psychedelics alleviate stigma-related distress remains unclear. Since stigma impacts different groups uniquely, any moderating effect of psychedelics on stigma-related distress is likely to vary across subpopulations. Thi...
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy represents a promising addition to palliative care interventions, potentially improving quality of life by addressing existential distress. Despite its safety and effectiveness, this therapy remains limited in Canada, underscoring the need for improved access to ease suffering from life-threatening illnesses. However, import...
Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has gained recognition as an innovative intervention in hospice and palliative care, demonstrating potential in mitigating the psychological, spiritual, and existential distress experienced by patients with serious illnesses. This article explores the role of PAT within these care settings, emphasizing its influence on vario...
