TY - JOUR
T1 - Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer
T2 - A randomized double-blind trial
AU - Griffiths, Roland R.
AU - Johnson, Matthew W.
AU - Carducci, Michael A.
AU - Umbricht, Annie
AU - Richards, William A.
AU - Richards, Brian D.
AU - Cosimano, Mary P.
AU - Klinedinst, Margaret A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Conduct of this research was supported by grants from the Heffter Research Institute, the Riverstyx Foundation, William Linton, the Betsy Gordon Foundation, the McCormick Family, the Fetzer Institute, George Goldsmith and Ekaterina Malievskaia. Effort for Roland Griffiths PhD in writing this paper was partially provided by NIH grant RO1DA03889.
Publisher Copyright:
© British Association for Psychopharmacology.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - Cancer patients often develop chronic, clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety. Previous studies suggest that psilocybin may decrease depression and anxiety in cancer patients. The effects of psilocybin were studied in 51 cancer patients with life-threatening diagnoses and symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. This randomized, double-blind, cross-over trial investigated the effects of a very low (placebo-like) dose (1 or 3 mg/70 kg) vs. a high dose (22 or 30 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin administered in counterbalanced sequence with 5 weeks between sessions and a 6-month follow-up. Instructions to participants and staff minimized expectancy effects. Participants, staff, and community observers rated participant moods, attitudes, and behaviors throughout the study. High-dose psilocybin produced large decreases in clinician- and self-rated measures of depressed mood and anxiety, along with increases in quality of life, life meaning, and optimism, and decreases in death anxiety. At 6-month follow-up, these changes were sustained, with about 80% of participants continuing to show clinically significant decreases in depressed mood and anxiety. Participants attributed improvements in attitudes about life/self, mood, relationships, and spirituality to the high-dose experience, with >80% endorsing moderately or greater increased well-being/life satisfaction. Community observer ratings showed corresponding changes. Mystical-type psilocybin experience on session day mediated the effect of psilocybin dose on therapeutic outcomes. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00465595
AB - Cancer patients often develop chronic, clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety. Previous studies suggest that psilocybin may decrease depression and anxiety in cancer patients. The effects of psilocybin were studied in 51 cancer patients with life-threatening diagnoses and symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. This randomized, double-blind, cross-over trial investigated the effects of a very low (placebo-like) dose (1 or 3 mg/70 kg) vs. a high dose (22 or 30 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin administered in counterbalanced sequence with 5 weeks between sessions and a 6-month follow-up. Instructions to participants and staff minimized expectancy effects. Participants, staff, and community observers rated participant moods, attitudes, and behaviors throughout the study. High-dose psilocybin produced large decreases in clinician- and self-rated measures of depressed mood and anxiety, along with increases in quality of life, life meaning, and optimism, and decreases in death anxiety. At 6-month follow-up, these changes were sustained, with about 80% of participants continuing to show clinically significant decreases in depressed mood and anxiety. Participants attributed improvements in attitudes about life/self, mood, relationships, and spirituality to the high-dose experience, with >80% endorsing moderately or greater increased well-being/life satisfaction. Community observer ratings showed corresponding changes. Mystical-type psilocybin experience on session day mediated the effect of psilocybin dose on therapeutic outcomes. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00465595
KW - Psilocybin
KW - anxiety
KW - cancer
KW - depression
KW - hallucinogen
KW - mystical experience
KW - symptom remission
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U2 - 10.1177/0269881116675513
DO - 10.1177/0269881116675513
M3 - Article
C2 - 27909165
AN - SCOPUS:85001099622
VL - 30
SP - 1181
EP - 1197
JO - Journal of Psychopharmacology
JF - Journal of Psychopharmacology
SN - 0269-8811
IS - 12
ER -