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Could a psychedelic vaccine prevent depression?

A New Vaccine Against Depression? | MYND Life Sciences

While many psychedelics companies are developing treatments for depression, MYND Life Sciences hopes to prevent depression from developing in the first place.

MYND recently signed a licensing agreement with Eyam, a private vaccine developer, to create a vaccine that would prevent neurological disorders including depression. The underlying theory is that depression is essentially neuro-inflammation, and psychedelics may have an anti-inflammatory effect that could prevent the neuro-inflammatory process.

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Compass Pathways conducts world’s largest psilocybin therapy trial

COMPASS Pathways completes COMP360 psilocybin therapy administration for 216 patients in large-scale phase IIb psilocybin therapy trial for treatment-resistant depression

Move over Prozac, Compass Pathways (CMPS) just made major progress in psychedelic treatment for depression. The company is conducting the world’s largest psilocybin therapy trial for its proprietary psychedelic compound, COMP360, which targets treatment-resistant depression. So far, 216 patients have had psilocybin therapy sessions at Compass’s 22 trial sites across 10 countries, with 14 more patients completing sessions over the next two weeks. Researchers will follow-up with each patient 12 weeks after the sessions and will publish the findings by the end of this year. Other studies have found that psilocybin is 4 times more effective than typical antidepressants – let’s see what Compass’s new research reveals.

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MYND Life Sciences makes progress in treating Alzheimer’s and dementia with psilocybin

MYND Life Sciences Expands Intellectual Portfolio to Target Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of Dementia with Chemical Subclasses of Psilocybin Analogues

You won’t want to forget about this company when choosing your investments. The research team at MYND Life Sciences Inc. (MYND) has been exploring new subclasses of psilocybin that have shown potential to delay or reverse Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The preclinical research has shown significant progress, and MYND aims to commence clinical trials to advance the research.

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Nova Mentis receives approval for autism clinical study

Nova Mentis Autism Clinical Study Approved by Canadian Institutional Review Board

Are psychedelics the future of autism treatment? Nova Mentis Life Sciences Corp. (NOVA) received Canadian approval for a new study on autism, which will be the first step in bringing psilocybin treatment to autistic patients. Researchers will observe 200 patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or fragile x syndrome (FXS) to establish baseline biomarkers that can be used to measure psilocybin treatment responses in a later study. NOVA will monitor the gut microbiome, immune response, and serotonin activity in patients, as these factors influence behavioural symptoms.

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Psychedelic therapy retreat aims to use psilocybin to treat traumatic brain injury (TBI) in veterans

Ground-breaking research to explore the potential for psilocybin to treat traumatic brain injury

This Fall, Heroic Hearts Project will begin psychedelic therapy retreats in the Netherlands and Jamaica to study the effect of psilocybin on veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Many veterans sustain brain injuries during their service, which can lead to issues like anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. The retreats aim to study both the psychological and physiological impacts of psilocybin therapy.

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Research shows psilocybin’s potential to treat cocaine addiction and chronic pain

Magic mushrooms: UAB studying benefits for addiction and pain

Dr. Peter Hendricks, a researcher at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, found that patients given psilocybin saw significant and lasting reductions in cocaine use compared to patients given a placebo. He plans to continue studying psilocybin’s effect on addiction, as well as on chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia. Hendricks explains that psilocybin disrupts repetitive thought patterns in the default mode network of the brain, the structures that engage in unfocused activities. “Suddenly your horizons are broadened, and broadened tremendously, and you’re thinking about something other than obtaining or using that drug (or worrying about your pain)”.

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Tryp Therapeutics (TRYP) aims to use psychedelics in eating disorder treatment

Dr. Jennifer Miller | Principal Investigator, Tryp Therapeutics

Tryp Therapeutics Inc. (TRYP), is conducting a phase 2 clinical trial that will investigate psilocybin’s effect on hypothalamic obesity conditions. Principal Investigator Dr. Jennifer Miller is confident that psilocybin therapy will reduce appetite drive, food-related anxiety, compulsive eating, and impulsive eating by rewiring neural pathways to alleviate the underlying psychiatric issues. She is hopeful that psilocybin could treat millions of patients with a wide range of previously untreatable, chronic conditions.

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Mom finds relief from post-partum depression through microdosing

Using Psychedelic Plants as Medicine – A New Solution for Mental Health Disorders

After having her second child, Melissa Lavasani became so severely depressed that she could barely function. She finally found relief through microdosing psilocybin. “It was as if I was blind and deaf and could see colors and hear again. The quality of my life vastly improved”. She explained that there are no hallucinogenic effects with microdosing, rather “a feeling of empowerment” in which she felt well-rested and in control of her emotions.

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Study suggests that psilocybin therapy is at least as effective in treating depression as the leading antidepressant, but with fewer side effects and faster results

Psilocybin therapy appears to be at least as effective as a leading conventional antidepressant

A study suggests that psilocybin therapy is at least as effective in treating depression as the leading antidepressant, but with fewer side effects and faster results. After six weeks, participants receiving psilocybin therapy saw an 8.0 point reduction in depressive symptoms and reported “greater improvements in the ability to cry and feel compassion, intense emotion, and pleasure”. Participants receiving escitalopram, a leading SSRI antidepressant, saw just a 6.0 point reduction in depressive symptoms, and were more likely to experience side effects like anxiety, dry mouth, sexual dysfunction, and reduced emotional responsiveness.

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Why access to psilocybin therapy is still limited despite proven effectiveness

Why Is Ottawa Stalling Proven Magic Mushroom Therapy for the Dying?

After two psilocybin-assisted therapy sessions, a terminal cancer patient, Thomas Hartle, says that “ I can’t emphasize enough how much of my life it has given back. Even months later, it’s much easier for me to be able to clear my head of those useless, anxious thoughts.” While many patients like Hartle are having great success with psilocybin therapy, Canada’s bureaucratic application process is limiting the number of patients who can access it, with 119 exemption applications awaiting review. In order to administer psilocybin therapy effectively, it is crucial that medical professionals experience the drug for themselves, yet only 19 medical professionals have been granted access to it. CEO of TheraPsil, Spencer Hawkswell, says Health Canada is pushing for clinical trials before granting more exemptions, but these trials are incredibly labour-intensive, have strict criteria, and cost millions. Dr. Pam Kryskow of the Canadian Psychedelic Association is advocating to include psychedelic therapy as a palliative care option under Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying legislation, which would allow terminal patients access to psilocybin without going through the slow application process. Krysow believes “that given their safety profile, given their efficacy, given how cheap they are… at this point it’s unethical to not be doing this.”

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