Magic mushrooms could help depression, study finds

A psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms is as good at treating symptoms of depression as conventional drugs, a small study by British researchers has found.

Scientists at Imperial College London said that psilocybin performed just as well as escitalopram, a widely-used antidepressant.

The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, also indicated that magic mushrooms could have a positive effect on improving someone's well-being.

Robin Carhart-Harris, who designed as head of the centre for psychedelic research at Imperial, told Reuters that it shows "the promise of properly delivered psilocybin therapy by viewing it compared with a more familiar, established treatment."

But experts warn more trials are needed as this study only used a sample size of 59 people who suffered from moderate or severe depression.

What did the trial involve?

Participants were given a meaningful dose of either psilocybin or escitalopram, plus either a placebo or a negligible dose of psilocybin, and then quizzed on a range of topics such as sleep, energy, appetite, mood and suicidal thoughts.

It is one of the first studies, which was carried out over a six-week period, to test the psychedelic head-to-head with a traditional depression treatment.

But the psychedelic drug performed considerably better when it came to measures of work and social functioning, mental well-being and the ability to feel happy.

Treatment response, defined as a reduction of at least 50% in depression scores from baseline, was seen in 70% of people in the psilocybin group and 48% in the escitalopram group.

Results also showed that remission of symptoms – measured as a score of 0 to 5 at week six – was seen in 57% of the psilocybin group compared with 28% in the escitalopram group.

What does this mean for treating mental health problems?

But Carhart-Harris warned that while these were initial findings, saying patients with depression should not try to self-medicate with magic mushrooms. 

"That would be an error of judgment," he said.

The Imperial team, co-led by David Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology, has been exploring the potential of psilocybin for many years.

The latest study was conducted under specific controlled conditions with two therapists and a regulated dose formulated in laboratory conditions.

In 2016 they published a small study showing psilocybin could help ease a severe condition known as treatment-resistant depression.

jf/msh (Reuters)