A recent review suggests the psychedelic psilocybin at high doses was ‘slightly more effective’ at treating depression than the common antidepressant escitalopram.
The review, published in The BMJ, compared effectiveness of psychedelics to escitalopram and found high doses of psilocybin were ‘minimally more effective than escitalopram in relieving depressive symptoms’ and ‘slightly more effective than the placebo results in escitalopram trials’; the results suggest psilocybin ‘may be comparable to current antidepressant treatment’.
Psychedelics are psychoactive substances with potential to treat several mental illnesses like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); common examples include psilocybin, LSD and MDMA.
The researchers in this review wanted to compare monotherapy use of psychedelics with escitalopram, a common medication used to treat depression. They included data from 19 trials: 811 participants in psychedelic trials and 1,968 participants in escitalopram trials.
Thet found the placebo effect in psychedelic trials was lower than in escitalopram trials, and compared to the placebo results of escitalopram trials, high-dose psilocybin (20mg or more) was slightly more effective. In addition, high dose psilocybin was also slightly more effective than escitalopram.
Californian geriatric psychiatrist Dr David Merrill (not involved in the study) told medicalnewstoday.com: ‘Only high-dose psilocybin showed greater effectiveness than escitalopram. High-dose psilocybin shows promise as a fast-acting, short-term treatment for depression.
‘This is in comparison to antidepressants, which take weeks, if not months, to kick in and only continue to work with continued use.
‘Though not addressed in this study, the clinical consensus is that benefits of high-dose psilocybin can last for months and potentially years after the acute episode of treatments. At times even only one treatment session is needed for otherwise chronic intractable depression.
‘This is part of why psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy under safe, controlled professional settings is gathering such momentum and enthusiasm in the field of psychology and psychiatry.’
Based on this study, high-dose psilocybin ‘appeared to be similar to the effects of antidepressants in treating major depressive disorder’; thus, the researchers recommended psilocybin should likely be used alongside psychotherapeutic support.
Dr Merrill summed up: ‘These findings give hope to those with depression – especially those who find anti- depressants ineffective or intolerable due to side effects.
‘While there are always potential risks of using drugs to treat health conditions, this review shows that, with the proper mindset and treatment setting, high- dose psychedelics can be used safely and effectively to treat depression, with results on par or better than seen with antidepressant medications.’
