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...
Our hominin ancestors inevitably encountered and likely ingested psychedelic mushrooms throughout their evolutionary history. This assertion is supported by current understanding of: early hominins' paleodiet and paleoecology; primate phylogeny of mycophagical and self-medicative behaviors; and the biogeography of psilocybin-containing fungi. These lines of ...
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...
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...
There is a growing body of research suggesting that palliative care patients coping with existential distress may benefit from psilocybin. However, there is a large gap regarding the perceptions of palliative care providers who may provide education, counseling services, recommendations, and/or prescriptions for psilocybin if it is decriminalized, commercial...
Background: One of the main public health strategies adopted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic consisted of implementing strict lockdowns to stop the transmission of the virus. Despite being an effective measure, the confinement and the associated social isolation create a stressful, potentially lengthy situations that has been proven to have several...
Sexual trauma is a life-altering violation with persistent, long term implications for survivors. Trauma can produce distinctive impacts on individuals, and therapeutic approaches that offer healing to some, may not be effective for others, particularly when the memories of trauma are implicit and are not easily treated through evidence-based therapeutic met...
ObjectivesPsychedelics are powerful psychoactive substances. Natural psychedelics have been used for millennia by human civilizations, in particular in Latin America, while synthetic psychedelics were discovered in the 50s, giving rise to a lot of research before they were prohibited. More recently, their therapeutic properties have been studied especially t...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ViewpointsFull AccessWait for the Science Before Widespread Use of PsilocybinNicole Harrington Cirino, M.D.Nicole Harrington Cirino, M.D.Published Online:28 Sep 2020https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2020.10a32AbstractThe momentum behind psilocybin as the next big "breakthrough" in treating psychiatric dis...
cancer patient: cancer patientWith the technological advances that have been made in diagnostics for cancer, more disease is being detected at an earlier stage. Although this generally improves the patient's chances for survival, a diagnosis of cancer can often provoke significant psychological distress in patients. A significant number of cancer patients wi...
BACKGROUND: A recently published randomized controlled trial compared single-dose psilocybin with single-dose niacin in conjunction with psychotherapy in participants with cancer-related psychiatric distress. Results suggested that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy facilitated improvements in psychiatric and existential distress, quality of life, and spiritu...
The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative review and offer novel insights regarding human research with classic psychedelics (classic hallucinogens), which are serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonists such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline, and psilocybin. Classic psychedelics have been administered as sacraments since ancient times...
Cancer is highly prevalent and one of the leading causes of global morbidity and mortality. Psychological and existential suffering is common in cancer patients, associated with poor psychiatric and medical outcomes. Promising early-phase clinical research (1960s to early 1970s) suggested a therapeutic signal for serotoninergic psychedelics (e.g. psilocybin,...
Recent clinical trials have shown promising results in the use of psilocybin and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to alleviate end-of-life anxiety in those life-threatening illnesses or experiencing end-of-life anxiety. This session will share some of those results. Below are links to the qualitative paper shared at the conference, as well as two short videos of ...
This chapter reviews what is known about the therapeutic uses of the serotonergic or classic hallucinogens, i.e., psychoactive drugs such as LSD and psilocybin that exert their effects primarily through agonist activity at serotonin 2A (5HT2A) receptors. Following a review of the history of human use and scientific study of these drugs, the data from clinica...
Recent randomized controlled trials of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for patients with cancer suggest that this treatment results in large-magnitude reductions in anxiety and depression as well as improvements in attitudes toward disease progression and death, quality of life, and spirituality. To better understand these findings, we sought to identify p...
The psychological mechanisms of action involved in psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy are not yet well understood. Despite a resurgence of quantitative research regarding psilocybin, the current study is the first qualitative study of participant experiences in psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. Semistructured interviews were carried out with 13 adult partici...
BackgroundClinically significant anxiety and depression are common in patients with cancer, and are associated with poor psychiatric and medical outcomes. Historical and recent research suggests a role for psilocybin to treat cancer-related anxiety and depression.MethodsIn this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, 29 patients with cancer-relate...
Acute adverse psychological reactions to classic hallucinogens ("bad trips" or "challenging experiences"), while usually benign with proper screening, preparation, and support in controlled settings, remain a safety concern in uncontrolled settings (such as illicit use contexts). Anecdotal and case reports suggest potential adverse acute symptoms including a...
