Treatment of a Complex Personality Disorder Using Repeated Doses of LSD—A Case Report on Significant Improvements in the Absence of Acute Drug Effects
Frontiers in Psychiatry October 22, 2020 Felix Müller, Markus Mühlhauser, Friederike Holze et al. 31 citations
A woman with severe, treatment-resistant depression and a complex personality disorder received weekly, ascending doses of LSD in an open psychiatric ward. Despite adequate dosing confirmed by blood tests, she experienced no substantial acute subjective drug effects. However, she showed rapid and significant improvements in depressed mood, emotional instability, low energy, and suicidal thoughts. Questionnaire scores also decreased in global severity and various psychopathological subscales. Improvements lasted about 7 days after each dose. The case suggests that LSD can induce rapid but transient beneficial effects on several symptoms, and that these improvements can occur without acute drug experiences, resembling the time course of ketamine's antidepressant effects.