Australian researchers have completed a clinical trial of psilocybin (psychedelic mushrooms) to treat patients with motor neurone disease and advanced heart disease.
Researchers at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital tested the treatment on 35 people diagnosed with advanced, “life-threatening” illnesses.
They found compounds in certain mushrooms eased “debilitating death-related anxiety and depression.”
However, the report’s authors cautioned that research into psychedelics as medical treatment is still in its early stages.
Clinical trial
The trial involved two treatment sessions, held several weeks apart.
In the first session, patients were given a “randomised, controlled dose,” with about half of the group receiving a psilocybin compound and the others receiving a placebo.
In the second session, all participants were given the compound. All had worked with psychotherapists before and after taking the drug.
Participants reported “gains in mood, outlooks and wellbeing” within the first 24 hours, lasting up to six months.
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Palliative care
In their study published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry, the researchers said legal drugs have shown a “limited” ability to help terminally ill patients’ “existential distress”.
Lead clinical psychologist Dr Margaret Ross said the psilocybin trial allowed some patients to confront “the very core of their fears about death.”
“We often see people in palliative care carrying an immense emotional burden… In this trial, we saw reductions in depression and anxiety [and] broader improvements in wellbeing,” Ross said.
Disclaimer
Researchers flagged that although “the results are promising,” trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy are still in their early stages.
Psychiatrist Dr Justin Dwyer also noted the trial’s findings came from psilocybin combined with therapy.
“Patients often confront powerful emotions and memories. The safety, structure, and support of the therapeutic setting are essential to making it beneficial,” Dwyer said.
