Psilocybin Therapy Trials: Gambling Addiction Study, Opioid Pain & Alcohol Addiction Trials

Starting this October, scientists at Imperial College London’s (ICL) Centre for Psychedelic Research will assess psilocybin-assisted therapy for gambling addiction, noted Psychedelic Spotlight. 

Government-funded, the study will focus on understanding brain function in the gambling disorder through observing changes in the reward system of participants (both addicted and non-addicted to gambling) when performing gambling-related activities and being exposed to related stimuli.

Participants will receive psilocybin paired with talk therapy, and their brain activity will be measured through fMRI and EEGs. The study PIs include remarkable names such as Prof. David Nutt, Dr. David Erritzoe, Dr. Matt Wall and Rayyan Zafar, PhD.

“The current clinical treatment paradigm for gambling addiction in the UK is a psychosocial intervention such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with some patients being prescribed naltrexone off-label,” Zafar explained. 

Considering there are no licensed pharmacological interventions for gambling disorder to date and given the similarities in clinical and brain characteristics between substance use addictions and behavioral addictions, the team says psychedelics “may be able to target the same psychological and physiological mechanisms underlying this condition.”

Psilocybin + MET To Reduce Heavy Drinking

Also in October, the University of Calgary will launch a clinical trial combining a single dose of psilocybin -either 1mg or 25mg- paired with five sessions of Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) toward reducing heavy drinking in 128 patients with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD.) 

Participants will complete a baseline session of clinical, behavioral and neuroimaging measures, the latter which will be assessed again one week post-dosing. Clinical and behavioral outcomes will be measured at one, four, and 12 weeks post-dosing, with heavy drinking assessed as percent heavy drinking days using the Time Line Follow Back (TLFB.) 

Adding Evidence To Psilocybin’s Benefits For Advanced Cancer Patients

Jan. 2024 would be the start date of a Phase 2 mixed-methods clinical trial assessing feasibility, safety and preliminary efficacy of one psilocybin dose to alleviate opioid-refractory pain in 15 patients with advanced cancer.

The trial will be led by Dr. Yvan Beaussant from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and will use Filament Health’s FLHLF natural psilocybin. Funding is provided by Cy Biopharma and Pancreatic Cancer North America.

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Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Susie Hedberg and C4289N on Shutterstock.