Happy Fungi Friday 🎉 Whether you swear by the benefits of microdosing or you’re convinced it’s a placebo, get ready for research to confirm your beliefs 🙃
Here’s what’s in store for you in today’s issue:
🍄 The company that’s designing brand new states of consciousness
🍄 Can psilocybin treat the deadliest mental health disorder?
🍄 The effects of different microdosing regimens
🍄 How patients feel 1 year after psilocybin therapy
🍄 And more.
On this episode of the Daily Mushroom Podcast, we have Michael Kydd, an independent consultant helping psychedelic companies navigate the complex world of government relations. in this emotional episode, Michael talks about his experience with the passing of his mother, and how he believes psychedelics could have strongly benefited his mothers and his family in that difficult time.
Anorexia has a higher mortality rate than any other psychiatric condition, as patients have a high risk of death by both suicide and organ failure.
Current treatments work for less than half of patients, which is why Imperial College London is preparing to study psilocybin therapy as an alternative.
The school is recruiting female patients who have had a diagnosis for at least 3 years and have tried other forms of treatment without success. They’ll each receive 3 doses of psilocybin, and researchers will use several MRIs and EEG scans to understand the effects of the treatment.
This week, Nova Mentis (NOVA) announced that rats with cognitive impairments saw improvements in memory when given a microdose of psilocybin every other day for just two weeks.
However, a new University of Chicago study found no effect on mood or task performance after giving healthy volunteer 4 LSD microdoses 3-4 days apart in a placebo-controlled study.
Could it be that a more frequent dose is needed to see benefits? Or is psilocybin faster acting than LSD? Or maybe microdosing is a placebo after all.
Stay tuned as we follow along with the latest research.
Johns Hopkins researchers found that one year after receiving psilocybin therapy, 75% of patients sustained significant reductions in depression scores and 58% no longer qualified for a diagnosis.
However, about a third of patients also used traditional antidepressants and 42% received additional psychotherapy at some point during the year.
So although psilocybin therapy can have rapid results, multiple treatment options can help sustain the benefits.
One of the few concerns that experts have about microdosing is the long term impact on heart health. Psilocybin binds to 5-HT2B receptors, which could increase risk of heart valve disease with frequent use.
Mydecine (MYCO) developed a group of patent-pending molecules that bind only to 5-HT2A receptors, making them safer for microdosing. The company aims to administer these compounds through a microdosing patch to eliminate another side effect: nausea.
People who use shrooms are less likely to commit crimes, according to new research.
An analysis of The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that psilocybin use is linked to significantly reduced odds of arrest for:
LSD appeared to have no impact on crime rates 🤔
Mindstate Design Labs raised $11.5M in seed funding to create “new novel states of consciousness that just don’t exist yet.”
The company is taking a reverse approach to drug discovery. Researchers will design a unique state of mind first and then create a compound that can get you there.
How? Using predictive AI technology, subjective data from 7,000+ trip reports, and biochemical data on how different molecules interact with receptors in the body.
Who’s brave enough to test out a brand new state of mind?
Houston is an app that helps you set intentions, track doses and moods, dose with community, and more, on your journey through inner space.
“Took a dive into Houston just now and WOW, absolutely phenomenal. User friendly, knocks out everything I journal while I’m microdosing, love intention section and the playlists. Wow. I am beyond elated you found me,” says one user.
Download Houston on the App Store and follow their Instagram to see when they launch on Android.
Vancouver Island University is launching a psychedelic-assisted therapy graduate certificate program this September, becoming the first accredited school in Canada to offer such a program.
A company called Fluence will also be scaling psychedelic training for therapists in Oregon after completing a $3M seed funding round this week.
Entheon Biomedical (ENBI) initiated a ketamine study on depression in partnership with Wavepaths. It will monitor brain activity with EEG while assessing the impact of Wavepaths’ personalized music technology.
Field Trip Health (FTRP) reported Q3 financial highlights including $74.5M in cash and patient services revenues of $1.36M, up more than 50% from Q2 and 330% year over year.
PharmaTher (PHRM) was granted a US patent for its formulation of ketamine and betaine anhydrous, a chemical that occurs naturally in the human body and may increase ketamine’s antidepressant effect. The formulation is already patented in Japan and Taiwan, and the company expects to receive patents in Europe, Canada, Israel and China in the near future.
Enveric Biosciences (ENVB) will partner with the University of Calgary to study oral psilocybin for cancer-related distress. Patient enrollment will begin by the end of this year or early next year.
