- In a new study, psilocybin from so-called magic mushrooms showed better results fighting depression than a placebo, niacin, or microdoses of psychedelics.
- Researchers also reported that psilocybin showed greater effects on people with secondary depression related to an underlying disease.
- They did note that the findings were limited due to a lack of diversity among study participants.
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Published inThe BMJ, the peer-reviewed research states that psilocybin was a more effective treatment of depression symptoms among study participants than a placebo, niacin (vitamin B), or microdoses of psychedelics.
The study authors said in a statement that depression affects an estimated 300 million people worldwide and is a leading cause of disability.
Researchers said psilocybin has shown promise in reducing symptoms of depression after one or two doses with few side effects and no current evidence that the substance causes addiction.
They also said published studies to date haven’t examined factors that could moderate psilocybin’s effects, including dosage, type of depression, past use of psychedelics, and publication biases.
The team of UK researchers searched databases for randomized controlled trials comparing psilocybin as a depression treatment to other substances.
They also looked at studies where psychotherapy was used under both the experimental and the control conditions to distinguish psilocybin’s effects from those produced by psychotherapy. They settled on seven trials relevant for their analysis that involved 436 subjects with depression (52% were female and 90% were white).
The researchers measured changes in depression scores using a statistical method called Hedges’ g….
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