A trial shows that a compound found in magic mushrooms can help people with depression.
Almost a third of patients with severe depression went into rapid remission after a single 25mg dose of psilocybin followed by therapy sessions, which aimed to help patients identify causes and potential solutions to their depression.
The chief medical officer at the mental healthcare firm that led the trial said the results were exceptional.
100 million people worldwide have treatment-resistant depression, which is a major depression that has not responded to at least two antidepressants. Half of those affected can't do daily tasks.
The response rate in this group is usually between 10 and 20%. Three weeks of about 30% is a very satisfactory result.
The trial at King's College London found that treatment-resistant depression placed a "staggering" burden on patients and those around them with a total cost to the UK of $3.
In the phase 2b clinical trial 233 patients with resistant depression were randomly assigned to receive a single capsule of synthetic psilocybin called Comp 360. Patients wore eye shades and listened to a calming song while they waited for the drug to kick in.
A therapist was on hand to make sure the patients were well taken care of. After having the drug, the volunteers had therapy the next day.
The results of a trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine show that depression scores improved immediately after treatment.
Those on the highest dose of the drug had the biggest impact. Three weeks after having the drug, 29% of this group were in remission, compared with 9% and 8% of the 10MG and 1MG groups respectively. The benefits persisted in a fifth of those in the high-dose group, compared with one in 10 in the lowest-dose group.
The active ingredient in magic mushrooms is pysybin. It's broken down into a substance called psilocin, which is released into the brain. Different parts of the brain are talking to each other more than usual as a result of the brain activity becoming more chaotic on the drug.
It seems like a bad thing, but it isn't. Every night, when you dream your brain becomes more plastic, chaotic, and you start to form new connections, it happens.
Patients on the trial said that they were in awaking dream after taking the drug. The increased connections in the brain seem to last a few weeks and possibly make the brain more receptive to therapy.
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David Nutt, a professor of neuroscience at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the trial, said the rapid effect of the drug suggested it was disrupting negative cycles of rumination in the patients.
The most common side-effects of the trial were headaches, nausea, dizziness and fatigue. A person had a bad trip and was given a drug to calm them down. A number of patients in the trial reported self- harm and suicidal thoughts.
There were three patients who did not respond to the dose of the drug at least one month after they took it.
Nutt believes that the cases were random and unrelated to the dose of the drug. A larger phase 3 trial is due to begin later this year.
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