- Researchers report that the psychoactive drug ibogaine seems to promote both structural and psychological improvements in brain health.
- In a study, veterans who used the drug reported decreases in PTSD, anxiety, and depression as well as improvements in brain function.
- The precise mechanism by which ibogaine works to treat TBI remains unclear, however.
A relatively obscure psychoactive drug could hold promise for treating traumatic brain injuries (TBI), according to a new
Researchers from Stanford University in California report that the plant-based psychoactive drug ibogaine, when combined with magnesium to protect the heart, can safely and effectively reduce post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression as well as improve functioning in veterans with TBI.
The drug seems to increase the brain’s ability to heal itself after suffering traumatic injuries, which can result in both structural and functional changes in brain function, according to Dr. Nolan Williams, a study author and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford.
“There is a physical effect and a psychological effect,” Williams told Medical News Today.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, focused on a group of 30 Gulf War veterans who had sought ibogaine treatment at a clinic in Mexico.
Treatment with ibogaine, which is derived from an African shrub called iboga, is legal in Mexico and Canada but illegal in the United States, where it has been classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a schedule I controlled substance since 1970.
The 30 special operations veterans all had clinically significant levels of disability related to a history of TBI and repeated blast exposures.
Researchers reported that treatment with ibogaine reduced the veterans’ average rating…
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