Psychedelics as potent anti-inflammatory therapeutics
Neuropharmacology – August 22, 2022
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
A surprising discovery reveals Hallucinogens like Psilocybin, traditionally studied for their impact on Consciousness, are potent anti-inflammatories. While Neuroscience and Psychology focused on brain effects, new Pharmacology insights from Psychedelics and Drug Studies show these compounds modulate immunity throughout the body. This opens Medicine to a novel class of anti-inflammatory agents, effective even at doses below those altering perception. Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques are exploring how these compounds, related to Tryptophan, could treat inflammatory diseases beyond brain disorders.
Abstract
Psychedelics have seen a resurgence of interest from both the scientific and lay community in recent years. Psychedelics are known for their ability to produce profound perceptual alterations, ego dissolution, and separation from reality in humans. Virtually all research into psychedelics and their mechanism of action has focused on examining effects in the brain, and on consciousness. Remarkably, we have discovered that psychedelics are also potent anti-inflammatories and immunomodulators in peripheral tissues. In this review, the discovery of this phenomenon, and the development of psychedelics as potential therapeutics for human inflammatory disease is presented. We believe that certain psychedelics represent a new class of small molecule, highly bioavailable, anti-inflammatory that is steroid sparing and efficacious at sub-behavioral levels that can be used to treat and prevent a variety of inflammatory-related diseases and conditions. This article is part of the Special Issue on 'Psilocybin Research'.