Psilocybin, a serotonergic agonist, was granted a "breakthrough therapy" status by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical trials involving major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression. The direct phosphorylation of psilocin to psilocybin that uses a fast crystallization associated with a kinetically controlled process resulted in a sma...
Stropharia rugosoannulata is not only a popular edible mushroom, but also has excellent potential in bioremediation. In this study, we present a high-quality genome of a monokaryotic strain of the S. rugosoannulata commercial cultivar in China. The assembly yielded an N50 length of 2.96 Mb and a total size of approximately 48.33 Mb, encoding 11,750 proteins....
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 ...
Hallucinogens, or psychedelics, are substances/drugs that have been used for over a millennium. The most well known are LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and PCP. These substances may induce hallucinations as well as cause somatic and psychological symptoms. Because of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, there has been very little research done to determine the...
BackgroundPreliminary data suggest that psilocybin-assisted treatment produces substantial and rapid antidepressant effects in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), but little is known about long-term outcomes.AimsThis study sought to examine the efficacy and safety of psilocybin through 12 months in participants with moderate to severe MDD who rece...
BackgroundPsychedelics, such as psilocybin represent one of the most promising current therapeutic approaches in psychiatry.ObjectivePsychedelics seem to have not only potent antidepressant effects. Do they also work particularly quickly, i.e. within one day?Material and methodsThe available literature on clinical studies of psychedelics in depressive syndro...
Recent clinical and preclinical evidence points towards empathogenic and prosocial effects elicited by psychedelic compounds, notably the serotonin 5-HT2A agonists lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and their derivatives. These findings suggest a therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds for some of the behaviour...
Drugs that target the human serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) are used to treat neuropsychiatric diseases; however, many have hallucinogenic effects, hampering their use. Here, we present structures of 5-HT2AR complexed with the psychedelic drugs psilocin (the active metabolite of psilocybin) and d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), as well as the endogenous ne...
BackgroundLSD and psilocybin are increasingly used in phase I trials and evaluated as therapeutic agents for mental disorders. The phenomenon of reoccurring drug-like experiences after the acute substance effects have worn off was described for both substances and especially attributed to LSD. According to the DSM-V, the persisting and distressing manifestat...
Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) combines the use of psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin, with psychotherapy. PAP has shown some promise as a novel treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and empirical research suggests that its efficacy turns on the altered states induced by psychedelic compounds. In this paper we draw on the literature...
Psilocybin (a serotonin 2A, or 5-HT2A, receptor agonist) has shown preliminary efficacy as a treatment for mood and substance use disorders. The current report utilized positron emission tomography (PET) with the selective 5-HT2A receptor inverse agonist radioligand [11C]MDL100,907 (a.k.a. M100,907) and cortical regions of interest (ROIs) derived from restin...
IntroductionThere is an imminent need for faster-acting and more effective antidepressants beyond the monoaminergic hypothesis.MethodsWe systematically searched the US Clinical Trials registry for antidepressant compounds with completed phase II and III trials. Compounds that demonstrated significant superiority over placebo in the primary outcome measure in...
Carhart-Harris et al. performed a study in which they compared psilocybin in combination with psychotherapy to escitalopram in combination with psychotherapy for depression. In this commentary, the author first summarizes the study results: in this double blind randomized controlled trial, psilocybin yielded an antidepressant effect comparable to escitalopra...
Rationale and objectivesDifferences among psychedelic substances regarding their subjective experiences are clinically and scientifically interesting. Quantitative linguistic analysis is a powerful tool to examine such differences. This study compared five psychedelic substance report groups and a non-psychedelic report group on quantitative linguistic marke...
Various metabolites identified with therapeutic mushrooms have been found from different sources and are known to have antibacterial, antiviral, and anticancer properties. Over thousands soil growth-based mushroom metabolites have been discovered, and utilized worldwide to combat malignancy. In this study, psilocybin-mushroom that contains the psychedelic co...
RationaleA broad reassessment of the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs has led to the initiation of multiple major clinical trials in an effort to advance their status to become FDA-approved medications, as well as local legislative efforts to legalize or decriminalize their use.ObjectivesTo use recently published data to assess potential risks and ben...
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a difficult to treat chronic pain condition for which there is strong interest in alternative treatments. There is growing interest in the potential of psychedelic substances (e.g., psilocybin) in conjunction with psychotherapy to treat chronic pain. Via a cross-sectional, anonymous, online survey, we aimed to characterize knowledge, per...
BackgroundSuicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and rates within the United States have risen over the past two decades. Hence, there is a critical need for novel tools to treat suicidal ideation and related mental health conditions. 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)/ecstasy and classic psychedelics may be two such tools.AimsThe aim ...
BackgroundDepression is a major mental health issue worldwide, with high rates of chronicity and non-recovery associated with the condition. Existing treatments such as antidepressant medication and psychological treatments have modest effectiveness, suggesting the need for alternative interventions.AimThe aim of this study was to examine the relationships b...
