Shown in a clinical studyPatients with depressionThose who received psilocybin mushroom along with psychotherapy experienced a reduction in symptoms. According to the researchers, this psychedelic substance contained in magic mushrooms can prevent depressive states. The therapeutic effects of the psychedelic lasted up to 4 weeks with minimal side effects.
Benefits of therapy with psilocybin mushroom
This is an extremely important study that advances the study of psychedelics and mental health. Above all, the results offer an opportunity for novel treatments for depression. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine reported that the 24 participants' depressive symptoms improved quickly and more than two-thirds of them responded well to treatment. In addition, more than half of the study participants met criteria for remission of their depression four weeks after treatment with psilocybin. So, to prevent people from misusing antidepressant medications, such alternative therapies to support psychotherapy can be groundbreaking. One such drug is ketamine, which is highly addictive and may have great potential for abuse. Compared to ketamine, a psilocybin mushroom has lower addictive properties, which would be beneficial as a potential agent for current treatments. However, clinical research evaluating this substance in combination therapies is limited.
The research data expands on the results of previous studiesPatients with cancer and depression. So these suggest that psilocybin could be effective in the much larger population of patients. Across the entire cohort, 67% reduced the severity of their depressive symptoms 1 week after starting psilocybin mushroom treatment. That percentage rose to 71% when researchers followed up at 4 weeks. After 1 week, they found that 58% of the cohort were no longer classified as clinically depressed. By week 4, the team observed that 54% of participants no longer suffered from depression.
Medical perspectives
However, there are several limitations that could challenge this study result. For example, the research had inadequate representation of minorities. This study also does not address the long-term effects of psilocybin treatment. Unlike studying cancer patients who were followed up for 5 years, the team only studied participants for 1 month. Overall, the authors of the study find that clinical research largely supports the use of psilocybin mushroom as a therapy. Although the rapid antidepressant effect is similar to that of ketamine, the therapeutic effects are different. With ketamine, these typically last a few days to 2 weeksthe current studydemonstrated that the clinically significant antidepressant response to psilocybin therapy lasted for at least 4 weeks.
