Journal of Parkinson's disease
March 1, 2025
Vanessa Fleury, Emilie Tomkova, Sabina Catalano Chiuvé et al.
3 citations
A 43-year-old woman with a two-year history of Parkinson's disease who struggled with accepting her diagnosis, anxious rumination, and pessimism received four sessions of high-dose psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (psilocybin) within one year. The treatment was well tolerated and significantly improved her pessimistic outlook, reduced anxious worries about future disability, and enhanced general well-being. Psychometric scores for depression, anxiety, and optimism improved, though apathy did not change. Motor symptoms remained stable. The patient's greater acceptance of Parkinson's disease allowed her to accept adjustments to her medication. The authors suggest psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy could be a safe, useful option for Parkinson's patients with dispositional pessimism and difficulty accepting their disease, but note that controlled trials are needed to confirm these results.
medRxiv
July 10, 2026
Lada Kohoutová, Jevita Potheegadoo, Léa F Duong Phan Thanh et al.
Hallucinations in Parkinson's disease, from minor to structured, are linked to changes in brain connectivity and cognitive decline. Non-demented patients with minor or structured hallucinations share a common pattern of resting-state functional connectivity that is absent in patients without hallucinations. This pattern involves connections between subcortical areas and visual, attention, and default mode networks, as well as within-cerebellar and within-subcortical connectivity. The pattern is equally expressed in both hallucination groups and is associated with impairments in attention and executive function, as well as increased sensitivity to an experimental procedure that induces presence hallucinations. The findings suggest that altered subcortical-cortical connectivity underlies hallucinations even in their early, minor forms.
Revue medicale suisse
April 23, 2025
Louise Penzenstadler, Sandra Baudois, Alma Lingenberg et al.
Psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD, acting through 5-HT2A receptors, rapidly and lastingly improve depression and anxiety by modulating neuroplasticity and brain connectivity. They may also help with addictions, post-traumatic stress, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This article explores their potential in Parkinson's disease, both for treating depression, anxiety, and impulse control disorders and for neuroprotection. Psychedelics stimulate synaptogenesis, increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and have anti-inflammatory effects. However, clinical trials are needed to confirm safety and efficacy in Parkinson's disease.