With depression being the number one cause of disability worldwide and up to 30% of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) being treatment-resistant to currently available serotonergic and noradrenergic agents, there is an incredible need for novel MDD therapeutics. Although the glutamatergic agent ketamine has been shown to provide rapid reductions in symptoms of depression and suicidality, the therapeutic effects of ketamine are short-lived and ketamine itself is associated with a toxicity and addiction liability. Psilocybin is a classic hallucinogen with serotonergic and glutamatergic properties that has a much lower addiction potential compared to ketamine. In this study, the authors provided 2 administrations of psilocybin (approximately 1.6 weeks apart) in the context on ongoing psychotherapy in 24 individuals with MDD. The data showed an impressive, rapid, and significant reduction in depressive symptoms at both 1 week and 4 weeks after the second psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy session as measured by the GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (GRID-HAMD). Reductions in GRID-HAMD scores were associated with the experience of psilocybin-occasioned mystical, insightful, and personally meaningful experiences and minimal adverse effects. These promising results warrant continuing studies on the use psilocybin in treating depression as well as further research into the antidepressant mechanism of action of psilocybin.
Reference:
Davis AK et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2020; Epub ahead of print. Abstract
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