Psychedelic Medicine

Two new studies suggest the psychiatric benefits of ketamine treatment may extend beyond just the targeting of depression. The research demonstrates ketamine may be helpful in targeting both anxiety- and substance abuse-related depression.

Alongside new discoveries in gut-brain communication and the genesis of Alzheimer’s disease, the FDA advanced acceptance of psychedelic medicines, from psilocybin to marijuana. But looming over all of these milestones was the controversial alleged birth of the world’s first gene-edited baby.

MDMA is anecdotally known to make people more open to empathetically interacting with those around them. However, a new study from King’s College London has revealed that while the drug may increase cooperative behavior, it does not make a person more naive to the influence of untrustworthy people.

Newly published results from a Phase 2 clinical trial into the efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in treating PTSD have revealed striking success, with 76 percent of subjects not meeting the standard clinical criteria for PTSD 12 months after receiving the treatment.

Scientists have, for the first time, investigated the pharmacological effects of a compound found in a rare moss called liverwort. The compound closely resembles that of THC, but exhibits less of a psychoactive effect with potentially better anti-inflammatory properties.

The FDA has given psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression a Breakthrough Therapy status. This classification suggests the treatment has demonstrated significant potential in early clinical evidence, allowing the FDA to assist and expedite subsequent development and review processes.

As final trials move to establish MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as a legal clinical treatment, a new study has recently been published demonstrating the results of the world’s first clinical trial for another, albeit more controversial, application – treating severe social anxiety in autistic adults.

A study has found significant overlap between experiences reported by subjects who have had near-death experiences and volunteers administered with a powerful psychedelic called DMT. The research builds on a long-standing body of work hypothesizing a strange correlation between the two experiences.

Over the last 15 years, ketamine has undergone a resurgence in medicine for its remarkable effects treating major depression. Now a team of researchers has completed the first study of the drug in adolescents, revealing strong remission rates for those subjects with treatment-resistant depression.

A new study has uncovered a new mechanism that helps explain the rapid, and long-lasting, antidepressant effects of controversial drug ketamine. The research reveals the drug operates in a way similar to that of conventional SSRI antidepressants except is it significantly more effective.

Psychedelic Medicine 101 is a series investigating the past, present and future medical uses of some taboo substances. ​​Here we examine the curious story of ketamine, initially developed to be an anesthetic before researchers and psychonauts discovered its unique and unusual effects on the brain.

Psychedelic Medicine 101 is a series investigating the psychedelic renaissance in medical research, examining the past, present and future clinical uses of these formerly taboo substances.