Gabrielle I Agin-Liebes1,2, Tara Malone2,3, Matthew M Yalch1, Sarah E Mennenga2, K Linnae Ponté4, Jeffrey Guss2,3,5, Anthony P Bossis2,3,5, Jim Grigsby6,7, Stacy Fischer6,7, Stephen Ross2,3,5. 1. Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, USA. 2. NYU Psychedelic Research Group, New York, NY, USA. 3. Department of Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA. 4. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. 5. Bellevue Hospital Center, New York, NY, USA. 6. Department of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA. 7. Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A recently published randomized controlled trial compared single-dose psilocybin with single-dose niacin in conjunction with psychotherapy in participants with cancer-related psychiatric distress. Results suggested that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy facilitated improvements in psychiatric and existential distress, quality of life, and spiritual well-being up to seven weeks prior to the crossover. At the 6.5-month follow-up, after the crossover, 60-80% of participants continued to meet criteria for clinically significant antidepressant or anxiolytic responses. METHODS: The present study is a long-term within-subjects follow-up analysis of self-reported symptomatology involving a subset of participants that completed the parent trial. All 16 participants who were still alive were contacted, and 15 participants agreed to participate at an average of 3.2 and 4.5 years following psilocybin administration. RESULTS: Reductions in anxiety, depression, hopelessness, demoralization, and death anxiety were sustained at the first and second follow-ups. Within-group effect sizes were large. At the second (4.5 year) follow-up approximately 60-80% of participants met criteria for clinically significant antidepressant or anxiolytic responses. Participants overwhelmingly (71-100%) attributed positive life changes to the psilocybin-assisted therapy experience and rated it among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy holds promise in promoting long-term relief from cancer-related psychiatric distress. Limited conclusions, however, can be drawn regarding the efficacy of this therapy due to the crossover design of the parent study. Nonetheless, the present study adds to the emerging literature base suggesting that psilocybin-facilitated therapy may enhance the psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being of patients with life-threatening cancer.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: A recently published randomized controlled trial compared single-dose psilocybin with single-dose niacin in conjunction with psychotherapy in participants with cancer-related psychiatric distress. Results suggested that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy facilitated improvements in psychiatric and existential distress, quality of life, and spiritual well-being up to seven weeks prior to the crossover. At the 6.5-month follow-up, after the crossover, 60-80% of participants continued to meet criteria for clinically significant antidepressant or anxiolytic responses. METHODS: The present study is a long-term within-subjects follow-up analysis of self-reported symptomatology involving a subset of participants that completed the parent trial. All 16 participants who were still alive were contacted, and 15 participants agreed to participate at an average of 3.2 and 4.5 years following psilocybin administration. RESULTS: Reductions in anxiety, depression, hopelessness, demoralization, and death anxiety were sustained at the first and second follow-ups. Within-group effect sizes were large. At the second (4.5 year) follow-up approximately 60-80% of participants met criteria for clinically significant antidepressant or anxiolytic responses. Participants overwhelmingly (71-100%) attributed positive life changes to the psilocybin-assisted therapy experience and rated it among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy holds promise in promoting long-term relief from cancer-related psychiatric distress. Limited conclusions, however, can be drawn regarding the efficacy of this therapy due to the crossover design of the parent study. Nonetheless, the present study adds to the emerging literature base suggesting that psilocybin-facilitated therapy may enhance the psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being of patients with life-threatening cancer.
Authors: Elena Argento; M Eugenia Socias; Kanna Hayashi; JinCheol Choi; Lindsay Mackay; Devon Christie; M-J Milloy; Kora DeBeck Journal: Int J Drug Policy Date: 2021-11-07
Authors: Gabrielle Agin-Liebes; Trevor F Haas; Rafael Lancelotta; Malin V Uthaug; Johannes G Ramaekers; Alan K Davis Journal: ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci Date: 2021-03-23
Authors: Stephen Ross; Gabrielle Agin-Liebes; Sharon Lo; Richard J Zeifman; Leila Ghazal; Julia Benville; Silvia Franco Corso; Christian Bjerre Real; Jeffrey Guss; Anthony Bossis; Sarah E Mennenga Journal: ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci Date: 2021-03-18
Authors: Bashkim Kadriu; Maximillian Greenwald; Ioline D Henter; Jessica R Gilbert; Christoph Kraus; Lawrence T Park; Carlos A Zarate Journal: Int J Neuropsychopharmacol Date: 2021-01-20 Impact factor: 5.176