VA Launches Psilocybin Trial For Veterans With Treatment-Resistant Depression
- Reference: 0184946912
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/08/13/0426242/va-launches-psilocybin-trial-for-veterans-with-treatment-resistant-depression
- Source link:
> The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs [2]announced the launch of a new clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of psilocybin to treat major depression in Veterans, including those with concurrent PTSD. The new trial comes after a [3]recent executive order on "Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness," which aims to increase clinical trial participation and accelerate innovative research models and drug approvals for psychedelic drugs.
>
> [...] The randomized, controlled trial will enroll Veterans diagnosed with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, with or without concurrent PTSD, and will compare outcomes between two psilocybin dosage levels. The study will also assess participants' levels of depression before and after treatment, tolerability of side effects, and overall patient-reported depression. [...] In addition to this trial, VA is involved in 20 active clinical trials focused on psychedelic therapies for mental health conditions. All VA research -- including research into psychedelics -- is conducted under strict safety protocols and in full compliance with federal guidelines.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~sbinning
[2] https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-launches-psilocybin-trial-for-veterans-with-treatment-resistant-depression/
[3] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/accelerating-medical-treatments-for-serious-mental-illness/
About time too (Score:4, Interesting)
It's clear that these psycho active drugs should have the same status Electro-Convulsive therapy - to be resorted to when nothing else works. The willingness to use ECT but not these chemicals is a prejudice driven mistake.
Re: About time too (Score:4)
Is that your professional option or is your opinion just prejudice driven? Why should they be lost resort?
Re: (Score:3)
> It's clear that these psycho active drugs should have the same status Electro-Convulsive therapy - to be resorted to when nothing else works. The willingness to use ECT but not these chemicals is a prejudice driven mistake.
Would the nasty side effects of approved drugs used today for depression place them as last resort treatments as well? They have some good ones? In the ads, they call them "Unusual urges" which means that the people they treat become promiscuous, or become gambling addicts. Or oddly enough, eliminating potency, to large eweigfght gain, or Tardive dyskenesia.
The prescribing of actual antipsychotics because the patient doesn't feel 24/7 euphoria, and the side effects above - Yeah, psychedelics will have to
Re: About time too (Score:4, Interesting)
At this time, Transcranial Magnetic Stimularion (TMS) has shown similar positive benefits as ECT without the brutal side effects of ECT. I believe that TMS is now favored over ECT for initial use despite slightly lower remission rates, mostly because TMS has much milder side effects and people are less likely to quit mistreatment. [1]https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/a... [nih.gov]
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12242144/
Re: (Score:2)
It's always puzzled me why there is no clear reporting distinction between concussive brain damage, does this even have a label?, and PTSD. The two seem to be lumped together in media reporting.
Re: (Score:3)
> It's clear that these psycho active drugs should have the same status Electro-Convulsive therapy - to be resorted to when nothing else works.
If they work, then why not use them as the first line of treatment?
Re: (Score:1)
>> It's clear that these psycho active drugs should have the same status Electro-Convulsive therapy - to be resorted to when nothing else works.
> If they work, then why not use them as the first line of treatment?
For something to be a first-line of treatment, it must have:
- high clinical effectiveness;
- strong safety profiles;
- broad accessibility; and
- cost-effectiveness.
If something else works that ticks more of the above boxes than psychoactive drugs, then that takes priority. My guess is that psychoactive drugs fail on the second point, and the jury is still out on the first. Not sure about the last two.
[Thanks Google Gemini.]
Almost non-existent LD50... (Score:4, Informative)
From Google: "A direct fatal overdose from pure psilocybin is biologically rare because the compound has low physiological toxicity."
No no no! (Score:2, Funny)
They shouldn't be trying such a desperate solution without trying chlorox and ivermectin first.
Re:If successful and it removes a VA disability cl (Score:4, Insightful)
I guarantee you that most of these people would rather be functioning members of society than emotional cripples going mad while on VA benefits. My nephew wants to work, but his PTSD makes it incredibly difficult. Though in his case he's going to end up 100% disabled anyway due to chemical damage.
I'm hopeful that he can get into the trial and at least be able to see fireworks without going into sniper mode.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
A little over 15 years ago, an acquaintance confided in me that he had been struggling with serious depression for years, and that he had decided to try psilocybin in a "recreational setting," as in not supervised by a doctor or other health professionals (which was not an option at the time anyway).
This is the only case I know of where somebody has tried this, and let's just say that it didn't go well.
I'm not a health professional, and I am not qualified to speak on the potential of psilocybin to treat men
Anecdotes are not data [Re:Good, Bad, and Ugly] (Score:3, Insightful)
> ... I'm also not a statistician, and I only have a single data point. But it is still reasonable to conclude from this one instance ...
It is reasonable to conclude absolutely nothing from this one instance.
Some guy taking an unknown and uncalibrated amount of a mushroom of unverified origin, and doing this with no medical knowledge, no medical advice, and no medical supervision gives exactly no useful information about the clinical efficacy.
Re: (Score:3)
If he did it alone this was a BIG mistake. Who you are with and in what circumstances is extremely critical for such an experience, even for those not struggling with issues. I suspect your friend didn't provide himself with a safe and comforting enough environment. Which is truly sad and my heart goes out to him.
Re: (Score:2)
It's gone very well for me in the past. But, I also know a guy for whom it went very poorly. Professional assistance and dosing seems wise.
Re:Good, Bad, and Ugly (Score:4, Insightful)
Sounds like the VA needs better funding. Amazing how little the government cares for troops after they come back fubar. The entire VA staff can't be incompetent either. Most probably genuinely want to help people but are overwhelmed and underpaid. Plenty of money being thrown at departments of the government that don't help anyone.
Re:Good, Bad, and Ugly (Score:5, Informative)
> However, the VA is staffed by health professionals who are there because they can't cut it in private practice.
Well, if that's not a load of horseshit, then I've never seen a horse OR shit.
My own anecdotal evidence aside (as I work in a VA hospital), studies have been done to show that [1]"[t]he VA often (but not always) performs better than or similarly to other systems of care with regard to the safety and effectiveness of care" [nih.gov]. Or how about the fact that a [2]"nationwide Medicare survey...found that veterans rated Veterans Affairs hospitals higher than private health care facilities in all 10 categories of patient satisfaction" [npr.org].
Doctors are not working for the VA "because they can't cut it in private practice". Many of the health professionals I know at the VA work there because they are either former military themselves, or they feel a civic pride in giving back to those who served. The idea that the VA gives substandard healthcare is not only extremely false, but a lie that needs to be corrected.
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5215146/
[2] https://www.npr.org/2023/06/14/1181827077/va-hospitals-health-care
Re: (Score:3)
I apologize. I was speaking from my own experience (my father was medically discharged from a career in the Marines), which is not as extensive as yours. I still maintain that I've heard far more negative than positive anecdotes about the VA and their medical care in particular, but there you have it: Anecdotes.
Re: (Score:2)
> I still maintain that I've heard far more negative than positive anecdotes about the VA and their medical care in particular, but there you have it: Anecdotes.
Maybe that's more a condemnation of the American healthcare system overall. The VA may be better than private care, but perhaps there are so many complaints and horror stories about private care throughout society we've just tuned them out at this point.
Re: (Score:2)
"However, the VA is staffed by health professionals who are there because they can't cut it in private practice"
1) Clear prejudicial statement made without any evidence. AI seems to think that VA nurse salaries are competitive, and nothing I found on the internet says otherwise.
2) Not helpful to your point. The general VA staff will not be doing this, it is experimental research. While some of the VA staff will be involved, research experiments are done by a combination of outside researchers and the more
Re: (Score:3)
A good description is that they are amplifiers. They magnify everything in your sensorium to the point of distortion. Every thought, sound, emotion; all are pumped up to eleven. You don't have separate senses; they all blend into interacting feedback loops of synesthesia. Your thoughts become tangible, perceivable objects and sensations. It can get overwhelming and almost requires a light-hearted attitude.
It can be enlightening, fun as hell, or deeply terrifying, all depending on your attitude as you go int
Re: (Score:2)
Well, you should reconsider, as they absolutely can be. And they can be more effective than the traditional pharmaceuticals.
After the (stupidest, evil) 'war on drugs', 'warr (Score:2)
Joke's in the title.
Nixon war is evil.
70 years lost to bigotry and fear.
Re: (Score:2)
Don't taunt the sock puppet. He has sex with himself all the time. And I mean, literally, all the time.
Re: (Score:2)
I have an actual family member who could benefit from this.
Re: (Score:2)
I sincerely wish your family member all the best. However, your comment seems to belong on another thread.