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Active ingredient in magic mushrooms reduces anxiety, depression in cancer patients

Date:
December 10, 2015
Source:
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Summary:
Psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, decreased anxiety and depression in patients diagnosed with life-threatening cancer. New research shows that patients who received a psilocybin dose that altered perception and produced mystical-type experiences reported significantly less anxiety and depression compared with patients who received a low dose of the drug. The positive effects lasted 6 months.
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A single dose of psilocybin, the major hallucinogenic component in magic mushrooms, induces long-lasting decreases in anxiety and depression in patients diagnosed with life-threatening cancer according to a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

Patients who receive a cancer diagnosis often develop debilitating symptoms of anxiety and depression. Reports from the 1960s and 1970s suggest that hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD may alleviate such symptoms in cancer patients, but the clinical value of hallucinogenic drugs for the treatment of mood disturbances in cancer patients remains unclear. In this new study, Roland Griffiths and colleagues from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine investigated the effects of psilocybin on symptoms of anxiety and depression in individuals diagnosed with life-threatening cancer. Five weeks after receiving a dose of psilocybin sufficiently high to induce changes in perception and mystical-type experiences, patients reported significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression compared with patients that received a low dose of the drug. The positive effects on mood persisted in the patients at 6 month follow-up.

The authors suggest that a single dose of psilocybin may be sufficient to produce enduring decreases in negative mood in patients with a life-threatening cancer.


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Materials provided by American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


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American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. "Active ingredient in magic mushrooms reduces anxiety, depression in cancer patients." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 December 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151210181635.htm>.
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. (2015, December 10). Active ingredient in magic mushrooms reduces anxiety, depression in cancer patients. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151210181635.htm
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. "Active ingredient in magic mushrooms reduces anxiety, depression in cancer patients." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151210181635.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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