Drop off your CV/Resume
We'd love to hear from you. Send us your CV/Resume and one of our team will be in touch.
In years gone by, psychedelics have evoked an easy-going, carefree moment in time, ca...
In years gone by, psychedelics have evoked an
easy-going, carefree moment in time, calling to mind scenes of hippie
counterculture and swirly neon patterns.
Today, however,
psychedelics aren’t about free love and world peace. No, this time round, the
new wave is serious in considering the scientific and therapeutic benefits of
mind-altering drugs, such as psilocybin, MDMA, and ayahuasca.
In fact, as a
growing number of scholars at renowned institutions are researching the effects
of psychedelics on mental health with promising results, a wave of investment
is flowing into the research area.
Even though most of
the drugs in question are still illegal, more than $3 billion has been raised
on the promise that psychedelics could be the magic cure for mental health
conditions ranging from depression to drug addiction.
So, with the fitting
quest of expanding our minds, today we’re looking into the ‘psychedelic
renaissance’ to understand if they really have a place in the world of Life
Sciences and if they could be what the growing mental health crisis has been
waiting for.
Psychedelics, also
known as hallucinogens, are a class of psychoactive substances that can alter
an individual’s perception, mood, and cognitive patterns.
They often induce a
profound change in consciousness and are most well-known for their ability to
produce vivid sensory experiences, such as visual hallucinations and altered
states of awareness.
Truthfully,
psychedelics have been used for centuries in various cultural and religious
contexts, but due to their properties, they’ve more recently been adopted by
the Life Sciences industry to explore the potential therapeutic benefits in
treating mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and
addiction.
As seen in the
Netflix docu-series, How To Change Your Mind, psychedelics have a long, complex, and
controversial history as a means of medicine.
While they date back
centuries in various cultures around the globe, in the Western world of
medicine, it was the mid-20th century when they were first taken seriously for
their therapeutic uses.
Throughout the 50s
and 60s, LSD and other drugs in the psychedelic family were studied for their
effects on mental illness and addiction. And although promising results were
reported, growing recreational use and increasing concerns about their safety
meant that research into their therapeutic potential was soon shut down.
Now, decades on,
there’s been a resurgence in exploring the use of psychedelic drugs as
medicine. In fact, with promising results from numerous clinical trials, in
2021, the FDA
designated psilocybin as a breakthrough therapy for treatment-resistant depression.
That means that the
agency recognizes the potential of the therapy to address an unmet medical need
and can accelerate the famously slow-moving process of drug development and
review – a huge step forward.
Did you know that 5%
of adults suffer from depression,
and up
to 30% of those suffering from
the condition don’t respond to treatment with antidepressants?
For this reason,
there’s an urgent need to expand the range of approved therapies available. And
now, researchers might have found a cure with none other than magic mushrooms!
Psilocybin, the active compound found in magic mushrooms,
changes the brain’s response to serotonin. When our livers break it down, it
causes an altered state of consciousness and perception, and after being used
in several clinical trials, results show it can rapidly relieve depression.
For example, one
study by John Hopkins
found that psychedelic treatment with psilocybin, in conjunction with
supportive psychotherapy, relieved major depressive disorder symptoms in adults
that could last up to a year.
In the study, 27
participants aged 21-75 with a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) and
who had experienced persistent depressive symptoms for approximately two years
prior to the research were randomized into two groups. The first group was
treated immediately, while the second group was administered psilocybin after
an eight-week waiting period.
Over two weeks, all
participants received a first dose of 20mg of psilocybin and a second dose of
30mg. The results found that both study groups experienced a decline in
depression after the treatment, which remained low one, three, six, and twelve
months afterward.
To judge depression
symptoms, the Hamilton
Depression Rating Scale was
used, which is a typical depression assessment tool. A score of 24 or above
indicates severe depression, 17-23 moderate depression, 8-16 mild depression,
and 7 or less no depression.
On average,
participants scores decreased from 22.8 pre-treatment to 9.7 after one week of
treatment, 8.9 after four weeks, 9.3 after three months, 7 after six months,
and 7.7 after twelve months. What’s more, 58% of participants were considered
to be in remission twelve months after the treatment, meaning they no longer
qualified as being depressed.
Another double-blind,
randomized trial took
59 depression patients and split them into two groups. One group was
administered psilocybin while the other took the existing antidepressant, escitalopram.
The trial was then
further examined using fMRI brain scans, comparing the results with other fMRI
findings from a separate clinical trial. The results discovered that just one
day after the first dose of psilocybin, fMRI measures revealed an overall increase
in connectivity between the brain’s various networks, which are typically
reduced in those with severe depression.
In comparison, the
brains of the participants taking escitalopram showed no change in connectivity
between brain networks six weeks after treatment began. Furthermore, psilocybin
had the greatest effect on overall wellbeing, with 70% of patients showing
clinical response compared to only 48% of those treated with escitalopram.
On top of that, 57%
of patients in the psilocybin group were considered in remission at six weeks,
compared to just 28% of the escitalopram group.
Both of these
studies suggest that psilocybin not only produces significant and instant
effects on depression, but it also has duration, which standard antidepressants
do not – they usually need to be taken for long stretches of time to have an
effect.
Therefore,
psilocybin shows promise as a depression therapy, being an ideal treatment
option for patients who don’t respond to existing antidepressants and moving us
closer to expanding depression treatments on the market.
PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is an
exceedingly common yet debilitating condition that affects the lives of
hundreds of millions of people around the world.
The condition can
have some severe social and economic side effects on those affected, and at the
moment, current treatments are considered only moderately effective, with 40-60% of patients not
responding to
FDA-approved PTSD therapies.
What’s more, poor
PTSD treatment outcomes are often associated with comorbid conditions, such as
childhood trauma, alcohol and substance abuse, depression, suicidal ideation,
and dissociation.
But today, new
research indicates that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can significantly reduce
symptoms of anxiety disorders, including PTSD.
MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy, is typically a
party drug. It induces a release of serotonin and, more recently, has been
shown to increase the ability to process traumatic events and improve social
behavior, with a Phase III clinical trial finding that MDMA-assisted therapy
successfully reduced the symptoms of patients with severe PTSD.
The trial in
question began with 91 participants who were reflective of the demographics of
those living with PTSD in the US, with ethnic minorities representing more than
half of the patient population. They were then split into two randomized
groups. The first group received an 80-120mg dose of MDMA alongside
psychotherapy, followed by a supplemental half-dose of 40-60mg. The second
group received psychotherapy and a placebo drug in place of MDMA.
Across the 15
separate study sites, MDMA significantly reduced the symptoms of PTSD in
comparison to the placebo drug. What’s more, it was found that MDMA didn’t
trigger any adverse events, such as drug abuse or suicidality, even in those
with comorbidities, which only goes to show that MDMA-assisted therapy could be
a highly effective treatment for individuals suffering from severe PTSD or for
those who do not respond to the currently available FDA-approved PTSD
treatments.
Back in January this
year, Amy Emerson, CEO of MPS PBC, who conducted the study,
commented, “The Phase
III confirmatory results support the development of MDMA-assisted therapy as a
potential new breakthrough therapy to treat individuals with PTSD – a patient
population that is often left to suffer for years. Now, with two positive Phase
III trials complete, we can add this important data to the new drug
application, which we expect to submit in the third quarter of this year.”
Addiction is an
epidemic of its own, with an estimated
35 million people affected
by drug use disorders, tobacco killing 8
million people annually, and 3 million deaths per year a result of harmful use of alcohol.
So, how do we
overcome addiction? Well, a growing number of studies are suggesting that
tripping on ayahuasca might just be the way!
Ayahuasca is a highly potent plant-based psychedelic
brew that contains the psychoactive ingredient DMT. It’s only really available in the Amazon basin,
where it naturally grows, and for centuries, South Americans have joined
ayahuasca ceremonies conducted by spiritual leaders known as Shamans to use the
plants’ properties to treat both spiritual and physical ailments.
But now, modern
medicine is researching ayahuasca’s therapeutic benefits to overcome substance
use disorders. For example, one
study examined the
psychedelic brew’s effects on individuals suffering from drug addiction and
unresolved grief.
Throughout the
study, all participants received a dose of ayahuasca in a ceremonial setting,
followed by counseling and group therapy. Then, at one, six, and twelve months
after the ceremony, the participants were followed up to assess any changes in
their substance use and emotional wellbeing.
Overall, the results
showed significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and substance use – particularly
for alcohol and cocaine. In the twelve-month follow-up, 58% of participants
reported complete abstinence from drugs and alcohol, and all participants
reported improved emotional wellbeing and decreased grief symptoms.
Similarly, another
study in Brazil saw 159
individuals suffering from substance use disorders, including alcohol, tobacco,
and cocaine, undergo a one-day ayahuasca-assisted therapy session. This
included a dose of ayahuasca, individual psychotherapy, and group therapy.
The results of this
study found significant declines in substance use in the twelve months
following ayahuasca-assisted therapy. In fact, just 16.4% of participants reported
using substances at the twelve-month follow-up compared to 100% before the
trial. What’s more, the results also showed improvements in mental health
outcomes, including anxiety and depression.
It’s fair to say
that both of these studies proved promising preliminary evidence for the
potential therapeutic benefits of ayahuasca on substance use disorders and
associated psychological distress. That said, it’s important to note that they
also have limitations, such as small sample sizes and a lack of control groups.
With ayahuasca being
an extremely powerful psychedelic drug, more research is definitely needed to
ensure the safety of ayahuasca-assisted therapy and explore its underlying
effects.
OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, is a psychiatric
disorder whereby people have recurring obsessive thoughts, urges, images, and
fears that cause them to act compulsively and repetitively. It can severely
impact people’s daily tasks, often making it extremely difficult to leave their
homes, go grocery shopping, interact with others, or meet work-based demands.
Despite OCD
affecting around 2%
of the population and
being classed by the World Health Organisation as one of the ten most
debilitating illnesses to
live with, it remains a complex condition to understand. To this day, there are
still arguments over whether it’s an anxiety-based condition or a
distress-derived disorder, meaning there’s no comprehensive definition nor an
agreed-upon treatment.
At present,
FDA-approved OCD treatments include SSRI medication (selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors, a widely used form of antidepressant) and cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT), as well as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS, a
non-invasive treatment that exerts a series of short magnetic pulses to
stimulate nerve cells in areas of the brain known to be associated with major
depression).
But, with SSRIs only
achieving a modest remission rate for sufferers of chronic OCD and many OCD
patients considered treatment-resistant, researchers are turning their
attention to less conventional options, including the magic mushroom compound, psilocybin.
The very first study to treat OCD with psilocybin was conducted
back in 2006. At the time, nine patients received psilocybin up to four times
each, with doses ranging from ‘very low’ to ‘frankly hallucinogenic’.
The results found
that all nine participants showed immediate improvement in their OCD symptoms
following at least one session, as well as improved mood and anxiety levels. On
top of that, it was reported that the psychedelic drug was proven safe and
well-tolerated.
Up until now, that
widely cited study has stood as the only modern investigation into the effects
of psilocybin on OCD symptoms. However, today, a Phase
II double-blind placebo-controlled study is currently underway at Yale (in
collaboration with Ceruvia
Life Sciences). The trial
aims to determine the efficacy and safety of synthetic psilocybin on OCD
patients.
What’s more, Francisco
Moreno, the University of
Arizona professor of psychiatry who led the 2006 study, is beginning another
trial (initially postponed due to COVID-19) also looking into the effects of
psilocybin on OCD. In this instance, the team of researchers will look at fMRI
brain scans to determine the impact of psilocybin on brain connectivity.
So, while we must
patiently wait for more clinical trial results to truly understand if
psilocybin could be a breakthrough treatment for OCD, experts in the field seem
to have high hopes. That’s because evidence
from the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that the magic mushroom compound can
produce perceptual changes, altering a person’s awareness of their
surroundings, thoughts, and feelings.
Psychedelics have
long been found to increase brain connectivity and neuroplasticity,
contributing to their therapeutic effects, as mentioned in the studies above.
However, many unanswered questions remain, meaning more research is needed to
fully understand the long-term effects and potential risks and identify optimal
dosing and administration protocols.
It’s also worth
noting that all the above-mentioned studies were conducted in highly controlled
research settings, so it’s not yet clear how these therapies will work in
real-life settings.
With that said, the
study of psychedelics in Life Sciences is undoubtedly a growing area of
research, with the promising potential of improving mental health treatments.
Do you think 2023 will be the year psychedelic medicine becomes mainstream?
We’d love to hear your thoughts!
If
you’re interested in reading more on alternative therapies, take a look at the 5
Ways Life Sciences is Utilising CBD as Treatment.