Three Things To Read This Week
1. Researchers At Harvard-Affiliated Hospital Study Psychedelic Treatment For End-Of-Life Patients.
For The Boston Globe, Jonathan Saltzman reports on an innovative, ongoing clinical trial by researchers at Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center’s Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy program, which is the “first to test synthetic psilocybin on patients in hospice care [with] cancer, heart disease, and other terminal illnesses and six months or less to live.”
The Central Question: Will Psychedelic Medicine Help These End Of Life Patients Ease Their Existential Distress? Dr. Yvan Beaussant, a palliative care physician at the hospital who is leading the clinical trial, explained to The Globe that patients facing the end of their lives often develop a condition called “demoralization syndrome, a clinical term for the feelings of hopelessness and meaninglessness” as they approach death, which is why the pilot study exploring how psilocybin “eases their psychological and existential distress.”
This Clinical Trial Will Add To A Growing Knowledge Base On How Psychedelic Medicine Can Help End-Of-Life Patients. For Hospice News, Jim Parker reports that Dr. Beaussant and the Dana-Farber researchers are part of a “growing cadre of hospice and palliative care clinicians and experts [who] are becoming proponents of psychedelic therapy when appropriate for individual patients.” Though the Dana-Farber / Harvard clinical trial is ongoing and no definitive findings are available yet, Parker details the broader research findings on the use of psychedelic medicine for end-of-life care, including, “reduction of anxiety, depression and improved acceptance of mortality.”
An Early Report From The Clinical Trial: Dr. Roxanne Sholevar, a psychiatrist at the hospital said she is “profoundly moved by the experiences of two terminally ill patients whom she counseled” during the trial:
“One was a 47-year-old woman who had withdrawn emotionally from her two teenage children while facing death from pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease. After taking the drug, the woman reported a mystical experience…that helped allay her depression and anxiety and led her to leave a videotaped message to her children saying she would always be with them.
The other patient, an 81-year-old man who was a devout Catholic, felt life was meaningless because of his impending death, and the death of his wife several years earlier. The man, who also had pulmonary fibrosis, took the capsule containing psilocybin and … told Sholevar that he realized that the purpose of his remaining days was to receive and share God’s love.”
2. “Psychedelics Improve Mental Health, Cognition In Special Ops Veterans.”
That’s the main findings from a recent study by researchers at Ohio State University who found that psychedelics-assisted treatment “lowered depression and anxiety and improved cognitive functioning in a sample of U.S. special operations forces veterans.”
The veterans who participated in the trial “had been on active duty after 9/11 and reported seeking care for memory problems, brain injury, depression, anxiety, PTSD, sleep problems, anger and fatigue” and “head injuries were reported by 86% of attendees, most of whom attributed memory problems, irritability, disordered sleep and ringing in the ears to those long-ago head traumas.”
To address these symptoms, the study used a novel treatment that included a combination of ibogaine (a plant-based psychedelic) and DMT (also a naturally occurring psychedelic) that have both shown promise in the treatment of various mental health conditions.
Researchers Found:
“[S]ignificant and very large self-reported reductions in suicidal ideation, cognitive impairment, and symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety from before-to-after the psychedelic therapy… a significant and large increase in psychological flexibility from before-to-after the psychedelic treatment, which was strongly associated with reductions in cognitive impairment, improvement in symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety, suggesting that alterations in psychological flexibility mediate the effect of psychedelic therapy on mental health outcomes.”
The study’s lead author, Alan Davis, a professor at Ohio State University and director of the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education, explained the significance of the treatment’s effects on Special Operations Veterans specifically, many of whom “do not respond to more traditional therapies” for the complex psychiatric conditions that they can develop in the line of duty:
“What sets this group apart from some other veterans and civilians is that often, they are exposed to repeated traumatic events as a routine part of their jobs. This build-up of exposure to these difficulties seems to produce a cluster of challenges that include traumatic brain injury, which we know in and of itself predisposes people to mental health problems. So the fact that we saw that there were improvements in cognitive functioning linked to brain injury were probably the most striking results, because that’s something we didn’t predict and it’s very new and novel in terms of how psychedelics might help in so many different domains.”
3. More States Push For Access To Psychedelic Treatment.
“Wisconsin veterans with PTSD could seek psilocybin treatment under a bipartisan bill.” For the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jessie Opoien reports on a bill introduced this month that would allow psilocybin treatment for “veterans age 21 and older suffering from treatment-resistant PTSD.” The pilot program would be run at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances and the School of Pharmacy.
Massachusetts “wants to study psychedelics for vets with ‘historic’ legislation.” Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced the filing of a new veterans-focused bill this month that “would establish a working group to study the “health benefits of psychedelics as treatment for veterans suffering from physical or mental health disorders related to their service,” Matthew Medsger reports for The Boston Herald.
“California lawmakers learn from Colorado as they tinker with vetoed psychedelics bill.” As Breakthrough Bulletin previously reported, California Governor Gavin Newsom provided state lawmakers with a roadmap to a psychedelic treatment bill that he would sign when it landed on his desk—an approach that resembles the psychedelic treatment programs that Oregon and Colorado have established. Now, California Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat, and Assemblymember Marie Waldron, a Republican are working on a bill that “addresses the governor’s concerns” and are “looking to Colorado as a model,” Alan Riquelmy reports for Courthouse News. Colorado’s program allows for adults to access psychedelic treatment with a licensed facilitator at a state-approved care center.
