Women’s Health and Psychedelics – New Insights
Using validated behavior models and known standards, studies are finding significant differences between male and female rodents given psychedelic drugs.
Mental Health
Gut Feeling: Links Between LSD, Endocannabinoids, and the Microbiome
In the last 10 years, psychiatric interest in the use of psychedelics, such as psilocybin and LSD, has surged. A new study employed mice to examine how LSD could exert changes on the inflammatory response and the gut microbiome.
Abuse Potential: Considerations for Rescheduling MDMA and Psychedelics
Can the meteoric rise of psychedelics and entactogens clear the legal hurdles of abuse potential assessment and rescheduling?
How To Stop A Psychedelic Trip: The Promise of Ketanserin
Psychedelic trips often unfold without issues, but what if a trip needs to be stopped? Drugs such as benzodiazepines and antipsychotics are recommended as rescue medications and have been around for decades. Can ketanserin be used as a more targeted trip stopper?
Psychedelic Brains In A Dish
Lab grown brains help to shed insight on 5-MeO-DMT mechanisms.
5-HT2A Virtual Chemical Screen Produces New Candidate Antidepressants
The serotonin receptor subtype 5-HT2A is key for the effects of many psychedelic substances in humans, but it is also a major drug target for new antidepressants. However, large challenges have prevented this therapeutic promise from being realised. Overcoming the early bottlenecks, innovative drug discovery methods have produced two new compounds with potential for therapeutic development.
Variants in 5-HT2A Receptor Gene Alter Psychedelic Pharmacology
A recent study found that Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 5-HT2AR gene may impact the effects of clinically relevant psychedelics. This research implies that patients carrying certain polymorphisms may respond differentially to psychedelic-assisted interventions, an important consideration for the design and interpretation of future clinical trials.
Acid for Anxiety: Fast and Lasting Anxiolytic Effects of LSD
Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and LSD have been investigated for their anti-anxiety (anxiolytic) potential in people with end-of-life anxiety associated with severe illness, but the anxiolytic effects of LSD-assisted therapy had not yet been assessed in patients with anxiety disorders without life-threatening illness.
Combating Suicidality: A Role for Psilocybin and Ayahuasca?
Despite excessive fear surrounding anecdotal reports of psychedelics inducing suicidal behaviors dating back to the 1950s, the current scientific landscape suggests potential therapeutic utility.
Psilocybin in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder
Psilocybin demonstrated preliminary efficacy for alcohol use disorder in a recent randomized clinical trial. The mechanism may lie in its interaction with glutamate receptors in the reward pathway of the brain.