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Psilocybin rapidly reduced anxiety and depression in cancer patients

A different team, a different city, and the same result.

2016Published

Double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trialStudy type

29 peopleSample

What they did

NYU randomised cancer patients with anxiety and depression to a single dose of psilocybin or an active niacin placebo, each paired with psychotherapy, then crossed participants over at seven weeks.

What they found

Psilocybin produced immediate and large reductions in anxiety and depression. Between 60 and 80 percent of participants still met criteria for a clinically significant response at the six and a half month follow-up.

60 to 80%responding at 6.5 months

Worth knowing

Published simultaneously with the Johns Hopkins trial above, which is why the two are usually cited together. Both are small, both used comparison substances that participants could distinguish from psilocybin.

Ross et al. Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2016.

Read the source

Keep reading

end of lifeFifty-one cancer patients, and six months of relief end of lifeIn life-threatening illness, anxiety and depression eased and held long-termFour and a half years after one session

The durability findings here are the ones most often quoted out of context. Read the follow-up periods before you trust a headline about them.

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