High Doses Of LSD Lead To ‘Greater Reductions In Depression’ Compared To Low Doses Of The Psychedelic, New Study Finds

Taking a high dose of LSD, coupled with assisted therapy, led to “greater
reductions in depression” among patients compared to those who received a
low dose of the psychedelic, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland investigated the
therapeutic potential of LSD for people with moderate-to-severe major
depressive disorder, and they found the substance showed “promise” as a
“novel approach” to treating the condition.

Notably, the study—published this month in the journal Med—indicated that
“high-dose-LSD-assisted therapy reduced depressive symptoms more than
low-dose therapy” and that the improvements lasted for up to 12 weeks after
the treatment.

The randomized, double-blind trial involved administering doses of 100μg
and 200μg of LSD for one cohort and two doses of 25μg of the psychedelic
for the other. Symptoms of depression were measured at multiple intervals,
starting with the baseline and followed up with examinations after two
weeks, six weeks and 12 weeks.

After assessing the 61 patients post-administration, the researchers
concluded that the “findings of this exploratory study support further
investigation of LSD-assisted therapy in depression in a larger phase 3
trial.”

“The present trial’s strengths include a clinically representative sample
with respect to the duration of illness, common comorbid conditions, and
various pretreatments,” the study authors said. “Other strengths include
the comparison with a low-dose group and a relatively long follow-up period
of 12 weeks after the last administration.”

“LSD could be used safely within the framework of this study,” they said,
adding that compared to previous trials involving psilocybin, “LSD has a
longer duration of action.”

“This prolonged effect makes clinical application more resource intensive.
It remains to be resolved whether this extended duration offers clinical
advantages,” the study text says. “Furthermore, it is yet to be determined
if there are other relevant differences among hallucinogenic drugs in terms
of therapeutic potential.”

Last year, meanwhile, U.S. researchers announced that, for the first time
ever, they will be administering LSD to patients in a Phase 3 clinical trial.
The study will focus on whether the psychedelic can be used to effectively
treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the LSD product
“breakthrough therapy” status as a treatment for GAD last year.

Breakthrough drug status is meant to recognize the therapeutic promise of
an emerging substance or therapy as well as speed the research and
development of treatments that fill an unmet need. MDMA and psilocybin have
also previously been awarded the designation.

Also last year, a report by researchers who gave a dog a dose of LSD in
order to treat separation anxiety found that the psychedelic caused no
adverse effects and appeared to “significantly” attenuate the animal’s
nervous symptoms.

Another report, on the millions of Americans with depression who might
qualify for psilocybin-assisted therapy if it becomes widely available,
noted that if LSD is approved for treatment of generalized anxiety
disorder, doctors might also prescribe it for off-label uses, such as
depression.

A separate study published last summer found that pairing psychedelics like
LSD with a small dose of MDMA seemed to both reduce those feelings of
discomfort and highlight more positive aspects of the experience.

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*Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.*

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Compared To Low Doses Of The Psychedelic, New Study Finds appeared first on Marijuana
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