A new study from Sweden, published by the American Medical Association, has found that a single dose of psilocybin, combined with therapy sessions, can quickly reduce symptoms of depression, with benefits lasting for several months.
Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and the Brain Stimulation Clinic in Stockholm conducted the phase 2 clinical trial involving 35 people with moderate-to-severe depression. Participants received either a 25 mg dose of psilocybin or a placebo called niacin, which can cause symptoms including temporary skin flushing similar to some physical effects of psychedelics.
All participants also attended five psychotherapy sessions during the study. The therapy was designed to support patients before and after taking psilocybin or the placebo.
The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, found that people who received psilocybin showed noticeable improvement in their depression symptoms within eight days compared to the placebo group. By the sixth week, 53% of people in the psilocybin group were considered free from depression symptoms, compared to only 6% in the placebo group.
"Our results suggest that psilocybin can provide rapid, clinically meaningful improvement in depression and may serve as an alternative to standard treatment when fast symptom reduction is important," lead study author Hampus Yngwe commented.
"However, the long-term effects are uncertain. Repeated treatments may be needed to prevent relapse," Yngwe added. "This needs to be investigated in larger studies."
Researchers followed participants for one year to see how long the effects lasted. They found that the benefits in the psilocybin group continued for a little over three months based on self-reported results. However, the positive effects became weaker over time, and after a year the difference between the two groups became smaller.
Researchers said this is not unusual because depression symptoms can improve naturally over time, even without treatment. During the follow-up period, just over one-third of participants in both groups also started taking antidepressant medications, usually around four months after the trial began.
The findings add to growing evidence that psilocybin could become a fast-acting and long-lasting treatment option for depression, including for people with more common forms of the condition and not just treatment-resistant depression.
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