Just one dose of a potent, celeb-loved psychedelic could help treat depression, a groundbreaking trial shows.
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a naturally occurring compound in the psychoactive brew ayahuasca. Originating from the Amazon basin, ayahuasca has been touted by celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Aaron Rodgers and Lindsay Lohan for mental health conditions, tinnitus and substance abuse.
Though illegal in the US, ayahuasca has become more popular in recent years after claims spread that it can help treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions by ‘rewiring’ the brain.
Now, a small trial suggests in conjunction with therapy, the DMT could have pronounced benefits for people suffering from depression.
In the double-blind study, meaning neither participants nor researchers knew who was in which group, 34 people received two infusions of DMT or a placebo alongside standard therapy.
During the second stage of the study, when given the choice, 30 participants opted for either a first or second dose of DMT.
After just three months, participants who received DMT infusions had significantly fewer depressive symptoms than the placebo, and some said they still felt the benefits six months later.
The team also found no additional benefit in getting two doses compared to one, suggesting just one dose was sufficient.
Dr David Erritzoe, lead investigator and psychiatrist at Imperial College London, said: ‘There is an immediate antidepressant effect that is significantly sustained over a three-month period and that’s exciting because this is one session with a drug, embedded in psychological support.’
The findings add to earlier research from Erritzoe’s team, which found 60 percent of patients who got one dose of intravenous DMT before therapy had no symptoms of depression three months later.
And it follows a recent trial of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, which showed significant benefits in people with depression.
However, DMT is considered a Schedule I substance in the US, meaning it’s part of a class of drugs ‘with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,’ according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, making it illegal nationally with strict mandates on a state-by-state basis.
The team said that while more research is needed and DMT can cause particularly intense trips, additional studies could provide valuable insight into DMT’s use for the 48 million US adults with depression.
In the new study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, 17 adults were given DMT and 17 were given a placebo, with both drugs being delivered intravenously.
The average participant age was 33, and 70 percent of them were men. About 88 percent were white, and participants had major depressive disorder for an average of 10.5 years.
All participants had psychotherapy and follow-up sessions after their infusions.
Using the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), researchers found after two weeks, participants in the DMT group had an average MADRS reduction of seven points, with the earliest improvements noted after one week.
Participants also had sustained benefits for three to six months. In fact, by the three-month mark, 47 percent of participants across both groups had improved enough to be considered in remission from depression. However, there was no significant difference between those who got two doses of DMT instead of just one.
There were also minimal side effects, including infusion site pain, nausea and mild anxiety.
Experts behind the study believe psychedelics combined with therapy help people with depression break unhelpful patterns of thinking, which Erritzoe has likened to the effects of shaking snow on a mountain or flattening hills so people can find new routes.
‘You redistribute the snow so it’s easier to take new tracks, and at the same time it becomes easier to take new routes because the landscape has been flattened,” he told The Guardian.
Though promising, the results are based on a small sample size, so the team highlights more research is still needed.
