Magic Mushroom's Active Compound Could Relieve Depression For Up To One Year, New Study Finds

A new review study by Johns Hopkins University researchers is shedding light on the long-term effects of psilocybin in the treatment of major depression.

In a new study, 58% of participants with major depressive disorder were in remission after one year of doing two sessions with psilocybin.

“Psilocybin not only produces significant and immediate effects, it also has a long duration, which suggests that it may be a uniquely useful new treatment for depression,” said Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., Professor in Neuropsychopharmacology of Consciousness at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Psilocybin, also known as the active compound in “magic mushrooms,” is one of the compounds spearheading a pipeline that looks to advance psychedelic drugs for medical use. 

There are currently dozens of biotech companies developing psychedelic drugs for mental health indications. Compass Pathways CMPS is leading commercial research with psilocybin and expects to move into phase 3 trials with the drug during 2022. 

Related: Magic Mushrooms For Depression: Clinical Trial Of Active Compound Approved For Patients Using Antidepressants

The Sustained Long-Term Results Of Psilocybin Against Depression

Johns Hopkins University has been leading academic research into psilocybin for the past decade. In earlier studies, researchers found that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy treatment with psilocybin relieved symptoms of depression in adults for up to a month.

“Compared to standard antidepressants, which must be taken for long stretches of time, psilocybin has the potential to enduringly relieve the symptoms of depression with one or two treatments,” continued Griffiths.

The university did a follow-up and review of study participants who had taken psilocybin between 2017 and 2019. The study points out that the antidepressant effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy may last for at least one year in most patients.

In the study, published on Wednesday in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, 24 participants attended follow-up visits through the 12 months after participating in a previous study with psilocybin, in which they took two separate doses of the hallucinogen.

“Our findings add to evidence that, under carefully controlled conditions, this is a promising therapeutic approach that can lead to significant and durable improvements in depression,” said Natalie Gukasyan, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. 

88% of the participants had previously been treated with standard antidepressant medications and most of them suffered from depression symptoms for at least two years.

“The researchers reported that psilocybin treatment in both groups produced large decreases in depression and that depression severity remained low one, three, six and 12 months after treatment,” said a press release by the university.

Participants had stable rates of response to the treatment and remission of symptoms throughout the follow-up period with 75% response and 58% remission at 12 months.

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