A study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry revealed that psilocybin, an active ingredient in psychedelic or magic mushrooms, produced a reduction in alcohol consumption in adults with the disorder for at least eight months.
The ingredient was administered in combination with psychotherapy, a scientific treatment based on psychic or physical manifestations of human distress, researchers reported.
They said that almost half of the study participants who received psilocybin stopped drinking completely. However, that effect lasted for years in some cases. According to Michael Bogenschutz, author of the study and director of NYU Langone's Center for Psychedelic Medicine, this means that "it's not that we're masking the symptoms" of the disorder, as "people have actually changed in some ways" and "that's really exciting."
Thus, the breakthrough achieved in this study adds to a growing trend of a growing body of clinical research showing that psychedelics combined with therapy can translate into an effective treatment for psychiatric disorders. (depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, alcohol use or AUD).
However, after discovering this unique treatment originating from psilocybin, the neuroscientists admitted that they are uncertain how psychedelics lead to improvements in mental health. Likewise, the hypothesis they developed specifies that perception-altering compounds prepare the brain for learning and profound change.
Psychotherapy, a golden aid to curb alcohol consumption.
A total of 93 men and women, between the ages of 25 and 65, were part of the study over several years. Conducted at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, it was reported that half of the study participants took a psilocybin pill, followed by another one a month later.
Those who did not receive the drug served as a control group and were offered doses of a placebo: diphenhydramine, an antihistamine sold under the brand name Benadryl.
However, prior to undergoing the medication sessions, men and women had to undergo up to 12 counseling sessions given by a group of psychotherapists. What was the objective? To help the study participants establish their intention to limit their alcohol problem.
After four sessions of psychotherapy, prior to receiving doses of psilocybin or placebo, the individuals showed signs of reducing by about half the number of days of heavy drinking. For Dr. Bogenschutz, the finding did not surprise him at all, as previous research has shown that psychotherapy can help curb alcohol consumption. Even up to 32 weeks after the first trip, the study revealed that the number of self-reported heavy drinking days was reduced by approximately another 40% among the psilocybin group.
In addition, they reported that twice as many people in the psilocybin group indicated that they had stopped drinking.
That statement was verified by the researchers by checking the hair and fingernails of the individuals. "It's definitely a small study, but what they report is definitely important," remarked University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine AUD specialist Brian Lee, who was not part of the research. "This is a disorder that has been yearning for new treatments," he explained.
Cases of overcoming psilocybin treatment.
Jon Kostas, a 32-year-old former journalist based in New York, was a participant in the study. He received psilocybin and says he saw the treatment as a last-ditch effort against his drinking situation. Prior to starting treatment, he had been drinking heavily for more than a decade. Therapy and support groups were not enough. "I no longer consider myself an alcoholic," he said after the clinical trial.
After arduous years of struggle, Kostas stopped drinking and now runs a nonprofit organization, called Apollo Pact Inc., which emphasizes the importance of the clinical use of psychedelics and federal funding for more research.
Paul Devis, on the other hand, changed his life forever. A 60-year-old executive, he battled excessive alcohol consumption for decades. During his first medication session in early 2019 (he was given a placebo), he reportedly said he thought about situations that might tempt him to drink again if he managed to quit and contemplated the death of his daughters.
The consequence? Weeping despondently. Subsequently, death loomed large in his life, though treatment helped him remember the unexamined emotional pain. "That was really uncomfortable. I had the emotional maturity of a 15-year-old. That was the age when I started drinking," he recounted. Placebo treatment gave him a new life: he never drank alcohol again.
CREDIT: CE Noticias Financieras English - CENFENG
DETAILS
Subject: Psychedelic drugs; Psychotherapy; Alcoholism; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Drug
dosages
Publication title: CE Noticias Financieras, English ed.; Miami
Publication year: 2022
Publication date: Aug 24, 2022
Publisher: ContentEngine LLC, a Florida limited liability company
Place of publication: Miami
Country of Publication: US Minor Outlying Islands, Miami
