In people with advanced Cancerpsychedelics like psilocybin, LSD And MDMA can significantly reduce the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms.
About 10 percent of the patients with cancer Experiencing fear while 20 percent report it depression. However, recent research suggests that prescription antidepressants are available did not significantly reduce depressive symptoms in cancer patients compared to a placebo.
My team and me recently completed a Meta-analysis of five clinical studies Studying anxiety and depression symptoms in patients with advanced forms of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
We found that taking psychedelic drugs alone—particularly LSD, psilocybin, or MDMA—reduced depression scores as measured by the Beck’s Depression Inventory by 6 points, with a score below 10 indicating minimal to no depression and above 30 indicating severe depression.
Average baseline scores for most studies ranged from 15 to 18, although one study had a baseline score of 0 about 30.
Psychedelics also reduced anxiety scores as measured by the State Trait Fear Inventory by 7 to 8 points, with a score of 20 to 37 indicating no or minimal anxiety and a score of 45 to 80 indicating high anxiety. However, the average values were between 40 and 55 about 60 in one try.
In a study of 51 cancer patients, 60 percent received a single high-dose psilocybin session achieved clinical remission for depression and 52 percent for anxiety. In comparison, 16 percent of those who received placebo achieved remission from depression and 12 percent of those who received anxiety. These effects continued six months later.
frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; write clipboard; encrypted media; gyroscope; picture in picture; web-share” allowfullscreen>
Psychedelics and Trauma
Why would one or two psychedelic therapy sessions be more effective than taking prescription drugs like fluoxetine (Prozac) and paroxetine (Paxil) daily?
Receiving a cancer diagnosis and experiencing side effects from treatments can be traumatic. In severe cases, patients can develop cancer-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
People who develop PTSD as a result of military service or physical or sexual violence often suffer from depression and anxiety.
research on MDMA-assisted psychotherapyin which psychotherapists combine psychedelic sessions with traditional counseling, has shown that this treatment approach can be effective in reducing PTSD symptoms by enabling patients to be willing and able to share traumatic memories in order to process them.
These reductions were greater than those seen in studies of prescription antidepressants alone.
Based on this research, my team and I hypothesize that psychedelic sessions may have an advantage over traditional prescription antidepressants for patients with cancer-related depression or anxiety, as it may help them deal with their underlying trauma.
Some of the studies in our review noted what patients perceived as this Reasons for the decreased anxiety and depression symptoms you experienced.
Patients stated that the psychedelic sessions helped them process the intense feelings they were repressing without becoming overwhelmed. Although catharsis was emotional and difficult, it helped them accept those emotions and reduced their feelings of isolation and withdrawal.
Unknowns in Psychedelic Therapy
While these results are promising, there are limitations in the available research that could skew the results. A Number of advanced cancer studies We studied individuals with a history of psychedelics use.
People with prior positive recreational psychedelic experiences may be more likely to participate in these studies than those who have had a “bad trip” or have spoken out against recreational drugs at all.
Furthermore, although the placebo appeared identical when not producing a psychedelic effect, it is unlikely that patients or caregivers were fooled.
While previous studies have found lackluster benefits of traditional antidepressants compared to placebos with PTSD And Cancer-Related Anxiety and Depressionthere was none clinical trials directly comparing the effectiveness of traditional antidepressants versus psychedelics in PTSD or cancer patients.
However, an early-stage study was completed comparing psilocybin to the traditional antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro). Patients with major depression found that 57 percent of people who received psilocybin achieved clinical remission, compared to just 28 percent who received escitalopram.
Eventually, psychedelic sessions caused great ones increases in blood pressure. This may not be the best treatment for patients with poorly controlled high blood pressure or heart disease.
Next steps for psychedelics
More research is needed on the effectiveness of psychedelics in treating anxiety and depression in cancer patients. Research into psychedelic treatments for patients with other life-threatening illnesses that cause trauma, anxiety, or depression could highlight their potential therapeutic utility.
If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved psychedelics for this type of use, the agency would have to figure out how to legally use those psychedelics. As Schedule 1 medicationthey are currently banned from any medical use by US researchers register with the US Drug Enforcement Agency study controlled substances.
However, the FDA has already set a precedent with its approval in June 2018 Cannabidiol (Epidiolex) used to treat rare childhood seizure disorders, although this cannabis derivative remains banned by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
C. Michael WhiteProfessor of Pharmaceutical Practice, University of Connecticut
This article is republished by The conversation under a Creative Commons license. read this original article.
