Posted on 09/05/2023 3:02:08 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
A collaboration between researchers has looked into the efficacy and safety of psilocybin in patients with major depressive disorder.
In a paper, the team finds a rapid onset of antidepressant effects, sustained reduction in depressive symptoms, and improvement in psychosocial functioning associated with a single 25mg dose of psilocybin administered with psychological support in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial was conducted at 11 research sites in the US between December 2019 and June 2022. It involved 104 adults diagnosed with MDD with moderate or greater symptom severity.
Participants received either a single 25mg dose of psilocybin or a 100mg dose of niacin (placebo control) alongside psychological support. Primary and secondary outcomes were assessed at various time points up to 43 days after dosing.
Psilocybin treatment was associated with a significant reduction in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) scores compared to niacin from baseline to day eight and baseline to day 43.
Psilocybin treatment also significantly reduced Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) scores compared to niacin from baseline to day 43.
Exploratory outcomes included scores on the Clinical Global Impressions Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire, Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder Scale, and the Oxford Depression Questionnaire (to assess emotional blunting).
The study found that psilocybin treatment was associated with improvements in these exploratory outcomes, including reductions in global disease severity, self-reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, and improved quality of life. Psilocybin treatment did not lead to emotional blunting, often a side effect of standard antidepressant medications.
The study suggests that psilocybin treatment positively impacted various aspects of mental health and well-being beyond just reducing depressive symptoms, as it improved overall functioning, anxiety symptoms, and quality of life in the study participants.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Formerly known in the Midwest as Microdot.
....so I’ve been told.
Formerly known in the Midwest as Microdot.
....so I’ve been told.
Sir, I believe that was Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), at least it was back in my days. Regards.
“One pill, with non-drug follow up, can remediate depression.”
That’s been known for a while. Hey, I trust Pfizer.
Magic Mushrooms / Psilocybin mushrooms
“Formerly known in the Midwest as Microdot.”
Purple Owlsey was a favorite.
Have dinner and breakfast with a beautiful woman
does 50 years ago count? been really happy for 50 years so....
Sir, had to look at your handle, specifically about good quotes. Here is one I think: William Congreve, 1697. “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks, or bend the knotted oak.” Regards, kawhill.
Sure, eating a shroom was like really far out man. Still felt way cool six weeks later.
Hunter S. Thompson would said that’s fine if you can handle seeing those formations of screeching bats flying overhead.
"This is a type of acid (LSD) that was engineered by LSD chemist Owsley Stanley. The super pure acid that Owsley produced was a staple of the Bay Area scene in the mid to late 60′s, showing up at Grateful Dead shows."
Owlsey was pointed out to me backstage, in the catering area, at the first Dead show I ever worked. Our production manager told me not to eat the spaghetti. The sauce could be dosed, said happened to him once.
Owsley Stanley, left, with Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
Thinking you can fly,
cuz shrooms,
and jumping of a tall building
cures all known forms of
depression permanently.
These people proposing this are evil.
.( I do remember the 60’s and mushroom heads and deaths )
As I recall reading, some very bright chemists discovered this compound known as ergot, a fungus growing on rye plants and how the hell they discovered the hallucinogenic properties of that I will never understand.
Used to check Cow patties for them. Chewed on the elusive peyote. Never licked a toad or drank th hiauasca.
Albert Hoffman.
He began studying the medicinal plant Drimia maritima (squill) and the fungus ergot as part of a program to purify and synthesize active constituents for use as pharmaceuticals. His main contribution was to elucidate the chemical structure of the common nucleus of the Scilla glycosides (an active principle of Mediterranean squill). While researching lysergic acid derivatives, Hofmann first synthesized LSD on 16 November 1938. The main intention of the synthesis was to obtain a respiratory and circulatory stimulant (analeptic) with no effects on the uterus in analogy to nikethamide (which is also a diethylamide) by introducing this functional group to lysergic acid. It was set aside for five years, until 16 April 1943, when Hofmann reexamined it and discovered its powerful effects. He described what he felt as being:
... affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated[-]like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away.
Three days later, on 19 April 1943, Hofmann intentionally ingested 250 micrograms of LSD, which he thought would represent a prudently safe, small amount, but was in fact a strong dose. At first, his trip was not pleasant, as people appeared to morph into fantastic creatures, office furniture moved and shifted like living entities, and he felt possessed by otherworldly forces.
April 19 is now widely known as "Bicycle Day", because as Hofmann began to feel LSD's effects, he tried to ride to the safety of his home on his bike. This was the first intentional LSD trip in history.
Hofmann's research with LSD influenced several psychiatrists, including Ronald A. Sandison, who developed its use in psychotherapy. Sandison's treatment at Powick Hospital in England received international acclaim.
Hofmann continued to take small doses of LSD throughout his life, and always hoped to find a use for it. In his memoir, he emphasized it as a "sacred drug": "I see the true importance of LSD in the possibility of providing material aid to meditation aimed at the mystical experience of a deeper, comprehensive reality."
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