Med (New York, N.Y.)
March 8, 2024
Joshua D Rosenblat, Shakila Meshkat, Zoe Doyle et al.
97 citations
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) is feasible for patients with complex, treatment-resistant depression, including those with bipolar II disorder and baseline suicidality. In a randomized trial with 30 adults, those receiving immediate PAP showed greater reductions in depression severity (MADRS) compared to a waitlist control, with a large effect size (Hedge's g = 1.07). Adverse events were transient and no serious adverse events occurred. Repeated doses over six months were associated with further improvement. The findings suggest PAP can be safely delivered to this population and warrants further study.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
July 1, 2025
Ryan M Brudner, Erica Kaczmarek, Marc G Blainey et al.
3 citations
In a small sample of 31 individuals with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder or bipolar II disorder, those who reported more intense mystical experiences after their first dose of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy showed greater reductions in depressive symptoms two weeks later. This link between mystical experiences and antidepressant benefit was not observed after the second or third psilocybin doses. The findings offer preliminary support for the idea that mystical-type experiences play a therapeutic role in psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, extending prior work to a clinically complex population with treatment-resistant depression.
Journal of pain and symptom management
August 1, 2026
Stefan Aguiar, Mary Makarious, Orly Lipsitz et al.
In adults with advanced cancer receiving palliative care, intranasal ketamine was associated with clinically meaningful improvements in existential distress, anxiety, symptom burden, and quality of life. Fifteen participants who completed three doses of ketamine showed improvements exceeding established minimal clinically important differences on measures of anxiety, death and dying distress, overall symptoms, and quality of life. Improvements in existential well-being were larger than those in physical symptoms. Changes in depression did not significantly correlate with changes in existential distress outcomes, suggesting ketamine may have independent effects on multiple dimensions of distress in this population.