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Atai gains celebrity support

Liam Payne becomes the latest star to invest in a depression treatment made from psychedelic drugs

Since debuting on the NASDAQ last month, Atai Life Sciences (ATAI) has gained support from some celebrity investors. Steve Bartlett, the youngest venture capitalist on Dragon’s Den, became Atai’s creative director, claiming that it is the most important company he has ever invested in. Bartlett believes that “if any company is to effectively tackle the global mental health crisis, it is $Atai.” He recently convinced One Director star Liam Payne to invest in the company, joining the American DJ Diplo.

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Will shrooms replace opioids?

TRYP THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR PHASE 2A CLINICAL TRIAL FOR FIBROMYALGIA WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Current treatments for fibromyalgia are often ineffective, with less than 10% of patients adhering to treatment for more than a year and 30% resorting to opioids to relieve pain.

Tryp Therapeutics (TRYP), a BC psychedelics company, is working to change this with psilocybin medicine.

This Wednesday, Tryp announced that it will be conducting a Phase 2a clinical trial to evaluate its oral formulation of synthetic psilocybin, TRYP-8802, in treating fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder that affects up to 8% of the population.

The trial will take place at the University of Michigan’s Chronic Pain & Fatigue Research Center and will be the world’s first trial of its kind. TRYP-8802 also shows potential to treat eating disorders, phantom limb pain, and complex regional pain syndrome by increasing neuroplasticity.

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The safest recreational drug becomes even safer

Mindset Pharma Announces Additional Preclinical Results Suggesting Superior Efficacy and Improved Safety in Head-to-Head Comparison to Psilocybin for its First Lead Clinical Candidate, MSP-1014

Magic mushrooms are the safest recreational drug according to a recent study, but Mindset Pharma (MSET) is working to make them even safer.

The company found that its patent-pending psychedelic compound, MSP-1014, may be more effective, safer, and more scalable than psilocybin. Researchers discovered that MSP-1014 more than doubled the head twitch responses in mice, an indicator of serotonin 5-HT2A receptor activity, which is tied to psychedelic experiences. MSP-1014 did not cause body temperature to drop, which was seen with psilocybin.

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Avoid daily antidepressants with a monthly trip

Single Dose of Psychedelic Compound Psilocybin Can Remodel Connections in the Brain

It’s clear that psychedelics are helpful in treating depression, but have you ever wondered why they work so well?

When someone suffers from depression or chronic stress, they typically have a reduction in neural connections, but psychedelics might be able to reverse this. A study at Yale just revealed that one dose of psilocybin can increase these neuronal connections by 10%. The dose also increased the density of dendritic spines (those little spikey things on nerve cells), making the connections stronger. About a third of the new connections remained intact after 34 days.

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Harvard explores psychedelics law with new initiative

Harvard Law School launches research initiative focused on psychedelics and the law

Harvard Law School hopes to bring safety, innovation, and equity to the psychedelics industry with a three-year initiative called the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR).

POPLAR will study regulations surrounding ethics, intellectual property, opportunities for federal support, and equitable access to psychedelic therapy. “By analyzing social, legal, and political barriers to access in this context, we hope to advance the understanding of [psychdelics] potential impact as therapeutics,” said one Harvard professor.

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Psilocybin relieves veteran from a decade of trauma

Opinion: I was traumatized by my time in Afghanistan and Iraq. Psychedelic therapy changed my life.

Juliana Mercer, a former U.S. Marine felt like she was “drowning in suppressed grief” after witnessing tragedies in Iraq and Afghanistan and losing fellow veterans to suicide. She says that a single session of psilocybin allowed her to release all the accumulated grief overnight. “I accidentally found relief and a glimpse of my authentic joyful self through the recreational use of psychedelics.” Now she urges California legislators to vote yes on the SB 519 bill that would decriminalize psychedelics.

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