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Plant-Derived Compounds as New Therapeutics for Substance Use Disorders
Published in Namrita Lall, Medicinal Plants for Cosmetics, Health and Diseases, 2022
Kevin S. Murnane, Mary Frances Vest
The fundamental shared pharmacological property of all psychedelics is high affinity and agonist activity at the serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor. Recent studies support the clinical potential of 5-HT2A receptor agonists. Clinical trials at institutions including Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and NYU School of Medicine in the United States, Imperial College in the United Kingdom, and the University of Basel in Switzerland, have examined the safety and efficacy of psilocybin as a treatment for depression, anxiety and substance abuse (Bogenschutz and Johnson, 2016; Carhart-Harris et al., 2018; Griffiths et al., 2016; Johnson et al., 2017; Kraehenmann et al., 2015; Ross, 2012; Ross et al., 2016). FDA-approved Phase II randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials have demonstrated a profound and long-lasting ability to alleviate depression and anxiety compared to active placebo. The effect size was several-fold higher than commonly found with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment over the same time course (Griffiths et al., 2016; Ross et al., 2016).
Substance Abuse during Pregnancy
Published in “Bert” Bertis Britt Little, Drugs and Pregnancy, 2022
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring hallucinogenic alkaloid present in several species of psychedelic mushrooms belonging to the genus Psilocybe. P. mexicana is the classic source of the drug and is known as the magic mushroom. It is most commonly found in Mexico, particularly in the Valley of Oaxaca, and southern Texas. However, other species occur north of Mexico in the southern United States and elsewhere, particularly in dairy pastures in the spring. Psilocybin typically grows in highly organic media, such as cow feces (cow patties) and usually in the springtime. Psilocybin mushrooms are eaten, used as a food additive, a tea, or a drink additive for hallucinogenic effects. The hallucinogenic effects usually last six to eight hours, although some sources quote times as short as an hour. Ingestion of these hallucinogenic mushrooms has become a popular form of substance abuse among some adolescents and young adults (Schwartz and Smith, 1988). The effects of psilocybin ingestion include hallucinogenic visions, altered states of consciousness, and a pronounced pyrogenic effect. Several surveys have indicated that mushroom use is more prevalent among high school and college students than is the LSD use.
Fungi and Water
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Species of genus Psilocybe are known due to their psychedelic effects caused by psilocybin (96–97). Some mushrooms containing psylocibin are: P. semilanceata, P. Mexicana, P. bohemica, P. cubensis, and P. baeocistis (96–97). They are commonly known as ‘magic mushrooms’. Magic mushrooms are hallucinogens, but cannot cause addiction. The symptoms of intoxication occur 30 minutes after ingestion of fresh or dried mushroom and start with anxiety, nausea, vertigo, and asthenia. Neurosensorial symptoms consist of visual problems (mydriasis), disorientation, motor incoordination, tachycardia, and hypertension (96–97). Recovery is complete 4 to 12 hours after ingestion. The need of hospitalization is rare and in exceptional cases myocardial infarction may occur in adult patients, while children may present hyperthermia, seizures, and coma (96–97).
Emerging drugs for the treatment of major depressive disorder
Published in Expert Opinion on Emerging Drugs, 2022
Jennifer Hong, Darian Vernon, Jelena Kunovac, Stephen Stahl
There has been a reemergence of the interest and utilization of psychedelics and hallucinogens for the treatment of several psychiatric disorders including MDD and TRD. Agents in this class include psilocybin, ayahuasca, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) [61]. Although these agents have been used for many centuries in Eastern cultures, they fell out of favor as a therapeutic class as they became stigmatized and outlawed in medical research in the 1970s in the United States. With improved understanding of this drug class, this resurgence of research into psychedelics and hallucinogens is ushering a new and safe class of therapies that have rapid onset of therapeutic improvement with long-lasting effects and without serious adverse effects when administered appropriately. Although there are reported transient side effects with psilocybin, there is little risk of overdose toxicity, low risk of physical dependence or withdrawal and low risk of acute and chronic toxicity [61]. This class has shown evidence of affecting serotonin 5-HT receptors, with some early research shown improvements in neuroplasticity and immunomodulators [32]. There are several clinical trials underway studying the safety, tolerability, and clinical efficacy of this class in depression [61], and this section will briefly review psilocybin [62].
Safety issues of psilocybin and LSD as potential rapid acting antidepressants and potential challenges
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2022
Giordano Novak Rossi, Jaime E. C. Hallak, José Carlos Bouso Saiz, Rafael G. Dos Santos
Nevertheless, the short- and long-term efficacy of psilocybin and other psychedelics, as well as their safety and tolerability, are not established. Although the previous meta-analysis assessed the prevalence of AEs linked to the use of psilocybin and LSD for the treatment of depression and depressive symptoms, a more thorough evaluation on this subject is still lacking. For instance, one that includes not only the prevalence of AEs, but that also (i) evaluates the quality of the trials, (ii) that compares the AEs of the main treatments with other treatments administered (placebo or active controls), (iii) that assesses the methods used to measure the AEs (systematic assessment, researcher’s impressions) (iv) that evaluates the underlying mechanisms behind the emergence of AEs, and (v) that discusses the challenges associated with those AEs. Moreover, psilocybin and LSD are more closely related both chemically and pharmacologically when compared to MDMA and ayahuasca. Therefore, the objective of this review is to address these points by analyzing all double-blind, randomized, and controlled clinical trials involving the administration of psilocybin and LSD for patients with depression and depressive symptoms.
The emerging role of psilocybin and MDMA in the treatment of mental illness
Published in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2020
Hartej Gill, Barjot Gill, David Chen-Li, Sabine El-Halabi, Nelson B. Rodrigues, Danielle S. Cha, Orly Lipsitz, Yena Lee, Joshua Daniel Rosenblat, Amna Majeed, Rodrigo B. Mansur, Flora Nasri, Roger Ho, Roger S. McIntyre
Moreover, studies investigating the abuse potential of psilocybin report no cases of physical dependence or withdrawal. There have been no documented adverse effects following discontinuation of the drug [45,46,47]. Psilocybin is also low in chronic toxicity, and moderate in acute toxicity. Thus, it carries little risk of overdose toxicity due to cardiovascular events or respiratory depression. However, despite the low risk of addiction and dependence, there remains a potential for abuse due to potential dose-dependent adverse effects. These effects include panic reactions, and long-lasting psychiatric conditions or visual perceptual disturbances [44]. As such, psilocybin should be administered under controlled clinical conditions only and further investigation regarding the safety and tolerability profile of psilocybin in specific subpopulations (i.e., TRD patients) is highly recommended.