University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Department of Clinical Research, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.
2 papers in the library · 35 citations · publishing 2025
In a double-blind, low-dose controlled trial, 61 patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder received supportive psychotherapy and either two high doses (100 μg then 200 μg) or two low doses (25 μg each) of LSD. At the primary endpoint two weeks after the second session, the high-dose group showed a greater average reduction in self-rated depression scores (11.8 points) compared to the low-dose group (3.9 points), a difference that approached but did not reach statistical significance. Clinician-rated scores also favored the high dose, but significance was lost after adjusting for baseline depression severity. Improvements were numerically maintained through 12 weeks. Adverse events were similar between groups. The authors suggest these exploratory results warrant a larger phase 3 trial.
Repeated low doses of LSD (20 μg twice weekly for six weeks) did not reduce ADHD symptoms more than placebo in adults with moderate-to-severe ADHD. In a double-blind randomized trial with 53 participants, the LSD group showed an average 7.1-point improvement on the ADHD symptom scale, while the placebo group improved by 8.9 points—a difference that was not statistically significant. The treatment was physically safe and psychologically well tolerated. The findings suggest that microdosing LSD, despite popular interest, offers no advantage over placebo for ADHD symptom relief.