Hope of tackling severe mental health conditions in the future with drugs produced from magic mushrooms has been raised.
This is the findings of a study published in the ‘Lancet Psychiatry’ journal. The magic mushrooms lifted severe depression in a dozen volunteers in a clinical trial, raising scientists’ hopes that active ingredients from the mushrooms could be used in mainstream medicine.
Mental health refers to our cognitive, and/or emotional wellbeing – it is all about how we think, feel and behave. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
According to a report in the Guardian, the clinical trial of using magic mushrooms to lift depression, which took years and significant money to complete due to the stringent regulatory restrictions imposed around the class 1 drug, has found that two doses of ‘psilocybin’, the active substance in the mushrooms, was sufficient to lift resistant depression in all 12 volunteers for three weeks, and to keep it away in five of them for three months.
The size of the trial and the absence of any placebo means the research, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), is a proof of principle only.
The MRC is a publicly funded government agency responsible for co-coordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom (UK).
The scientists, from Imperial College London, said they hoped the results would encourage the MRC or other funders to put up the money needed for a full trial. However, the use of a placebo control, comparing those who use the drug with those who do not, will always be difficult, because it will be obvious, who is having a psychedelic experience.
In spite of the outcome, the researchers urged people not to try magic mushrooms themselves.
The lead author, Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, said: “Psychedelic drugs have potent psychological effects and are only given in our research when appropriate safeguards are in place, such as careful screening and professional therapeutic support.”
