Magic mushroom compound psilocybin can help treat depression, study finds

LONDON — The people occurring psychedelic compound psilocybin tin importantly trim symptoms of depression, according to information from the largest proceedings of its benignant ever conducted.

Psilocybin was fixed to 233 patients who had already tried astatine slightest 2 antidepressants successful the past with small success, suggesting the compound could person immense benefits for those suffering with hard-to-treat depression.

After receiving the psilocybin, patients entered a "walking dream-like" authorities for betwixt 4 and six hours and past near the session erstwhile they had returned to their mean state.

The proceedings recovered that a 25mg dose of psilocybin, fixed alongside intelligence support, triggered a simplification successful levels of slump 3 weeks aft treatment.

The study, published Thursday successful the New England Journal of Medicine, was carried retired internationally by London-based COMPASS Pathways.

Around 100 cardinal radical worldwide endure with slump that is resistant to treatment, and truthful the findings of the survey are a measurement successful the close direction, according to James Rucker, advisor psychiatrist and elder objective lecturer astatine King's College London, who was progressive successful the study.

"Our task present is to analyse psilocybin for treatment-resistant slump successful larger trials with much participants, comparing it some to placebo and to established treatments," Rucker said, according to a King's College London property release. 

The drugs were trialed successful doses of 1mg, 10mg and 25mg and adverse effects recorded crossed each groups included headaches, nausea and thoughts astir suicide.

There was not, however, an adjacent fig of "severely depressed" participants successful each dosage group, according to Ravi Das, an subordinate prof astatine the University College London Institute of Mental Health, which "does not look to beryllium acknowledged successful the paper," arsenic reported by Reuters.

Critics person besides expressed interest that this could pb to a emergence successful usage of magic mushrooms successful non-pharmaceutical settings.