United States: The magic mushrooms could be the ingredient to suppressing depression in individuals fighting cancer.
One oral dose of psilocybin sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in cancer patients with major depression disorder in a small-scale study published June 16 in the journal Cancer.
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According to the lead researcher, Dr. Manish Agrawal, who is the CEO and co-founder of Sunstone Therapies, “One dose of psilocybin with psychological support to treat depression has a long-term positive impact on relieving depression for as much as two years for a substantial portion of patients with cancer, and we’re exploring whether repeating the treatment resolves depression for more than half of the patients,” US News reported.
Researchers said that approximately one in every four children living with cancer experiences depression to the extent that it could affect their survival rates.
The phase 2 clinical trial involved 28 cancer patients with major depression consuming a 25-milligram psilocybin dose with the assistance of a therapist.
The magic mushrooms contain psilocybin. Significant and long-lasting improvement in depressive symptoms was experienced among about half of the patients in two years, according to the results.
In one-fourth of the patients, their continued decrease of depression did not necessitate the application of further psychedelic or antidepressant drugs, researchers stated.
Researchers also noted that about 43 percent showed a persistent decrease in anxiety symptoms.
Prior studies have reported that such fields of optimistic results are always experienced when one undergoes a psilocybin trip with the guidance of a therapist.
Research has failed to discover any gain of using psilocybin outside the presence of a therapist, US News reported.
The research team said that studies were required to determine whether repeated doses could benefit those who failed to achieve relief in one session.
They said there should also be randomized controlled trials to give evidence on the usefulness of psilocybin on a gold-standard basis.