EClinicalMedicine
February 1, 2023
Robin von Rotz, Eva M Schindowski, Johannes Jungwirth et al.
345 citations
A single, moderate dose of psilocybin (0.215 mg/kg body weight) significantly reduced depressive symptoms compared to placebo in adults with major depressive disorder. Over two weeks, depression severity scores dropped by 13.0 points on the MADRS and 13.2 points on the BDI in the psilocybin group, with improvements significantly larger than in the placebo group. 54% of participants receiving psilocybin met remission criteria. No serious adverse events occurred. The findings suggest psilocybin offers rapid antidepressant effects, though larger, longer-term trials are needed.
EClinicalMedicine
February 1, 2023
Robin von Rotz, Eva M Schindowski, Johannes Jungwirth et al.
8 citations
correction
A correction was issued for a figure in a clinical trial on psilocybin-assisted therapy for major depressive disorder. The colors representing the Psilocybin and Placebo conditions were swapped in Fig. 2; the correction aligns them with the caption and other figures. The error does not affect the results. The trial found that a single, moderate dose of psilocybin significantly reduces depressive symptoms compared to placebo for at least two weeks, with no serious adverse events. Larger, multi-centric trials with longer follow-up are needed to optimize this treatment.
Der Nervenarzt
September 1, 2024
Johannes Jungwirth, Francesco Bavato, Boris B Quednow
6 citations
A review article examines the risks and methodological weaknesses of studies on psychedelic and dissociative agents for mental health treatment. While ketamine, esketamine, LSD, and psilocybin show promising results for conditions like treatment-resistant depression, leading to approvals of esketamine in the US, EU, and Switzerland, and psilocybin for compassionate use in Australia, Canada, and Switzerland, the authors caution that excessive expectations and insufficient risk-benefit estimation can harm patients and physician reputation. The article focuses specifically on treatment risks and study quality issues, emphasizing that careful assessment of challenges is crucial despite hopes for a paradigm shift in psychiatry.
Research Square
July 9, 2026
Samuel Westenhöfer, Yamina Ehrt, Barbora Provaznikova et al.
For people with treatment-resistant depression, intranasal esketamine significantly reduced depressive symptoms during an initial four-week induction phase. After induction, two different maintenance schedules—one with a front-loaded pattern and one with a spaced interval-extension pattern—were compared. No significant differences in depressive symptom trajectories were observed between the two schedules over the maintenance period. By the end of maintenance, response rates were 35.3% on the clinician-rated scale and 26.0% on the self-report scale; remission rates were 31.4% and 38.0%, respectively. These results suggest that maintenance dosing intervals may be scheduled flexibly without loss of efficacy, though the retrospective, observational design and small sample size warrant caution.
December 10, 2025
Johannes Jungwirth, Samuel Westenhöfer, Helena Aicher et al.
In a real-world clinical setting in Switzerland, 19 patients with treatment-resistant depression received one to four doses of psilocybin (20–35 mg). Depression severity, measured by the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory II, showed significant and clinically meaningful reductions from before to after treatment. Response rates were 33.3% and remission rates 22.2% on one scale; on the other, both were 27.8%. No serious adverse events occurred, and multiple dosing did not add benefit. These response and remission rates are lower than those seen in earlier controlled trials, but the findings provide some of the first real-world evidence for psilocybin's antidepressant effects.
The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
December 10, 2025
Johannes Jungwirth, Samuel Westenhöfer, Helena D. Aicher et al.
In a retrospective analysis of medical records from 19 patients with treatment-resistant depression treated with psilocybin (20–35 mg) in one to four dosing sessions at a Swiss psychiatric hospital, depression severity decreased significantly. Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores dropped from an average of 30.78 before treatment to 19.89 afterward, a large effect, and Beck Depression Inventory II scores fell from 32.33 to 23.28. Response and remission rates were 33.3% and 22.2% by the MADRS, and 27.8% and 27.8% by the BDI. No serious adverse events occurred. Response and remission rates were lower than those in previous controlled trials, and no additive effect of multiple dosing was found.