Institute for Advanced Diagnostics and Treatment, Sheppard Pratt Health System, Baltimore (Aaronson, Miller, LaPratt, Swartz, Shoultz, Lauterbach); Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, Baltimore (Aaronson, van der Vaart, Lauterbach); VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA (Suppes); Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, Columbia University, New York (Sackeim).
3 papers in the library · 47 citations · publishing 2024-2026
American Journal of Psychiatry January 1, 2025 Scott T Aaronson, Andrew van der Vaart, Tammy Miller et al. 31 citations
In an open-label study, psilocybin appears effective and safe for people with severe treatment-resistant depression, supporting further research into psychedelics for this group, including how post-traumatic stress disorder may affect outcomes.
Brain stimulation January 1, 2024 Charles R Conway, Scott T Aaronson, Harold A Sackeim et al. 16 citations
Patients with treatment-resistant unipolar major depressive disorder who qualified for the RECOVER trial—the largest randomized sham-controlled study of vagus nerve stimulation for a psychiatric condition—had severe disability, a median of 11.0 prior failed antidepressant treatments, and high rates of suicidality (77% with suicidal ideation, 40% with previous suicide attempts). Seventy-one percent had received at least one prior interventional psychiatric treatment (electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, or esketamine). Compared to those without such history, recipients of interventional treatments were younger, more severely depressed, had greater suicidal ideation, earlier onset of depression, and more failed medication trials.
The Journal of clinical psychiatry May 13, 2026 Andrew van der Vaart, Jeffrey LaPratt, Kimberly Swartz et al.
A single 25-mg dose of a synthetic psilocybin formulation, combined with psychological support, rapidly and durably reduced chronic suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms in 20 adults with major depressive disorder who had not responded to at least two prior antidepressant treatments. Suicidal ideation scores dropped significantly by week 1, remained reduced at week 3 (the primary endpoint), and were still lower at week 12, when 70% of participants had minimal or no suicidal ideation. Depressive symptoms also improved substantially. No serious adverse events occurred. The findings are preliminary and require confirmation in larger randomized trials.