Psilocybin instead of ethanol

Alcohol addiction was suggested to be treated with psychedelics

Daniil Sukhinov, Naked Science

Recently, more and more scientific clinical studies have noted the prospects of using low doses of psychedelics for the treatment of various neuropsychiatric disorders associated with impaired functions of the nervous system. Although the mechanisms of psychedelic treatment remain unclear, the effect of these drugs seems to increase neuroplasticity. brain, affecting the structure of neurons and neural networks.

One of these classic psychedelics is psilocybin, a natural narcotic compound found in dozens of mushroom species. The effects of using this drug are extremely diverse and depend on the subjective experiences of the patient / study participant and his environment, including concomitant psychotherapy.

Earlier, the prospects of using psilocybin and pharmacologically similar lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in the treatment of alcohol dependence were shown. A new double—blind randomized clinical trial (in which neither the participants nor the authors themselves initially know which of the patients got the drug and who got the placebo) allowed for the first time to evaluate the effectiveness of psilocybin therapy in combination with standard methods of psychotherapy. The results are presented in an article published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry (Bogenschutz et al., Percentage of Heavy Drinking Days Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy vs Placebo in the Treatment of Adult Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder).

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Scale of addiction and toxicity of common recreational drugs / © Gable R. S., Drugs and society: U.S. public policy, 2006

The course of treatment for each of the 93 participants consisted of 12 sessions of psychotherapy and two doses of the drug (psilocybin or placebo) after four and eight sessions. At the same time, the sessions included not only standard motivation enhancement therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, but also training in the management and use of the psychoactive effects of the substance under study.

As a result, after eight months of therapy and follow-up, participants who took psilocybin reduced the number of cases of alcohol consumption by an average of 83% relative to the initial level before the study. At the same time, the control group taking a placebo also reduced alcohol consumption, but only by 51%. At the same time, almost half (48%) of participants who received psychedelic drugs completely gave up alcohol at the end of treatment (compared with 24% in the control group).

"Our results strongly suggest that psilocybin therapy is a promising way to treat alcohol addiction. As the number of studies in the field of psychedelic treatment increases, we are finding more and more possible applications for the treatment of mental illness. In addition to alcohol—related disorders, this approach may be useful in the treatment of other addictions, such as cigarette smoking and cocaine and opioid abuse," concluded the study's lead author, psychiatrist Michael Bogenschutz, MD and director of the Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine at New York University.

Despite the high significance of the results obtained, the authors warn that until the drug is ready for wide clinical use, it is necessary to document in detail all the effects of psilocybin and specify the appropriate dosage. Therefore, in the future, the research team plans to conduct a larger study with a much larger number of participants.

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