A new study found that patients receiving a high dosage of LSD and assisted therapy saw “greater reductions of depression” than those taking a low dosage of the psychedelic.
Researchers from the University of Basel (Switzerland) investigated the therapeutic potency of LSD as an “novel treatment” for those with mild to moderate major depression.
Notably, the study—published this month in the journal Med—indicated that “high-dose-LSD-assisted therapy reduced depressive symptoms more than low-dose therapy” and that the improvements lasted for up to 12 weeks after the treatment.
The randomized, double-blind trial involved administering doses of 100μg and 200μg of LSD for one cohort and two doses of 25μg of the psychedelic for the other. Multiple intervals were used to measure depression symptoms, including the baseline examination, followed by tests at two, six, and twelve weeks.
Researchers concluded after evaluating the 61 post-administration patients that “the findings of this exploratory research support further exploration of LSD-assisted treatment in depression as part of a phase 3 study.”
Study authors stated that “the present trial has strengths in a clinically-representative sample, with regard to duration of illness and common comorbidities as well as various pretreatments.” Other strengths are the comparison to a low dose group, and the relatively long 12-week follow-up after last administration.
The researchers said “LSD is safe to use within the context of this research,” adding that it has a “longer duration of action” compared with previous trials of psilocybin.
The clinical application is more expensive because of this prolonged effect. “It remains to be determined whether this prolonged duration provides clinical advantages,” says the text of the study. It is still to be determined whether there are any other important differences between hallucinogenic drugs with respect to their therapeutic potential.
Researchers in the United States announced last year that they would administer LSD for the very first time to patients participating in a phase 3 clinical trial. The research will look at whether psychedelics can be effectively used to treat generalized anxiety disorder.
Last year, the federal Food and Drug Administration granted LSD a “breakthrough therapy”, allowing it to be used as a GAD treatment.
The designation of a breakthrough drug is intended to acknowledge the therapeutic potential of a new substance or therapy, as well as accelerate the development and research of therapies that meet an unmet medical need. MDMA, psilocybin and other substances have been previously awarded the designation.
Also last year, a report by researchers who gave a dog a dose of LSD in order to treat separation anxiety found that the psychedelic caused no adverse effects and appeared to “significantly” attenuate the animal’s nervous symptoms.
Another report, on the millions of Americans with depression who might qualify for psilocybin-assisted therapy if it becomes widely available, noted that if LSD is approved for treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, doctors might also prescribe it for off-label uses, such as depression.
A separate study published last summer found that pairing psychedelics like LSD with a small dose of MDMA seemed to both reduce those feelings of discomfort and highlight more positive aspects of the experience.
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