Journal of palliative medicine
October 1, 2023
Noah D Gold, Austin J Mallard, Jacob C Hermann et al.
5 citations
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) may help alleviate psychiatric and existential distress in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a terminal neurodegenerative disease with an average survival of 3-4 years. The authors suggest PAP could also intervene on neuropathological dimensions of ALS, based on neuroprotective properties of psychedelics and robust improvements seen in other populations. They call for future preclinical trials in ALS models and rigorous clinical trials, given the lack of effective treatments for both disease progression and psychological distress.
Journal of fluency disorders
September 1, 2024
Eric S Jackson, Noam Goldway, Hope Gerlach-Houck et al.
4 citations
Stuttering affects social, occupational, and educational functioning. Traditional therapies have limited effectiveness, and no FDA-approved pharmaceutical treatments exist. Interest in classic psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD) for conditions like anxiety and depression has grown, but their effects on stuttering were unexplored. This analysis of 114 Reddit posts from self-identified stutterers who used psychedelics found that 74.0% reported positive short-term effects, including reduced stuttering and anxiety. However, 9.6% reported negative effects, 4.8% mixed, and 11.6% neutral. The uncontrolled setting and potential adverse health effects require caution; results do not encourage use but suggest future controlled research.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2023
Noah D Gold, Samantha K Podrebarac, Lindsay A White et al.
3 citations
Over 50 million Americans serve as unpaid caregivers for chronically ill loved ones, a role that can foster personal growth but also leads to caregiver distress—a mix of physiological, psychological, interpersonal, and spiritual impairments affecting 30-70% of caregivers. Existing treatments do not fully address all these components. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has shown promise in clinical trials for conditions overlapping with caregiver distress, such as anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and inflammation, while enhancing empathy, connectedness, and reducing existential distress. Although no studies have yet tested PAP for caregiver distress, this narrative review argues it could comprehensively treat all biopsychosocial-spiritual dimensions of the condition, outlining safety, psychedelic selection, and therapeutic structure for future research.