The ongoing hype about the benefit of using psychedelics such as psilocybin to treat mental health conditions like depression has been tested in a recent study—and found to be not as “dazzlingly powerful” as had been suggested in previous research. The new study shows that the drug was indeed effective to reduce or eliminate symptoms in the short term in more than one-third of patients with treatment-resistant depression, but this was not as long-lasting as seen in earlier trials. While the results warrant further research, doctors say they are also sobering, in that the overall response rate of 37 percent was lower than in previous trials and also in another trial comparing psilocybin with more commonly used SSRI antidepressant medications for major depressive disorder. In addition, most participants in the new trial also experienced adverse events, such as headaches and nausea, while 5 percent had severe adverse events, such as suicidal ideation and self-injury. One issue concerning the psilocybin trial as is the difficulty of finding a convincing placebo, and because it is given alongside intensive therapy, it’s hard to differentiate between the presence of the therapist and the psychedelic experience. Much more research is needed into psychedelics before they will be ready for mainstream clinical practice, and like all such drugs, they should not be considered a panacea.
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Rosenthal Center for AddictIon Studies