Psychedelics Therapy For Teens, Elders, And Borderline Disorder Patients: Here Are The Latest Findings

Are Psychedelics Safe And Effective For Older Adults?

MDMA and psilocybin therapy, when administered in controlled conditions, improved symptoms of PTSD, depression and illness-associated distress in older patients, according to a study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

The trial participants were, on average, in good health, and did not surpass the age of 60. Consequently, the effect of psychedelics on older adults with chronic illnesses and cardiovascular disease (given the increase in blood pressure and heart rate), remains unknown.

The study's authors stated that research on the effect of psychedelics in older adults may "provide insights into the aging brain," and hold future clinical applications for it. 

In order to establish safety and efficacy, particularly among those with multi-morbidity, additional studies are needed, they said. 

Treating Teenagers With Ketamine-Assisted Therapy

Teenagers between 14 and 19 years old took part in a study led by therapists at the Center for Transformational Psychotherapy and Ketamine Research Foundation.

The results, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, were promising. The teens — who suffered from conditions ranging from eating disorders, anxiety, and treatment-resistant depression including bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts — received ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP). After this they showed symptomatic and functional improvements and no adverse effects.

The authors stated that “rapid resolution of symptomatology and suffering often occurs within months as the result of the application of KAP to adolescent psychiatric care.”

Family involvement in the treatment process “appears to be essential to success,” they added.

Ketamine For Depression In Borderline Personality Disorder Patients

Ketamine therapy would be suitable for adults with Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) and comorbid Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), a condition for which there is no FDA-approved treatment to date.

That's according to a recent study published in Psychiatry Research.
The research had 100 people receive four ketamine doses over two weeks, on an outpatient basis. Fifty had both TRD and BPD, and 50 had TRD alone.

Results showed patients with both TRD and BPD experience a significant improvement in their depression symptoms, which was similar to that seen in patients with TRD alone: all saw their symptoms go from severe to moderate.

The first group experienced a significant, “rapid and robust” improvement in their BPD symptoms, which went from highly severe to moderate, with no adverse events reported.

Joshua Rosenblat, who authored the study, said the results were "encouraging" but need to be tested further considering this was an uncontrolled, open-label observational study.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels and Doc James on Wikimedia Commons.