Faculty Opinions recommendation of Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression.
Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature April 15, 2021 Dave Nichols
In a 6-week trial, 59 patients with long-standing, moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder were randomly assigned to either two doses of 25 mg psilocybin plus daily placebo or two doses of 1 mg psilocybin plus daily escitalopram, all with psychological support. Depression scores on the QIDS-SR-16 improved by an average of 8.0 points in the psilocybin group and 6.0 points in the escitalopram group; the 2.0-point difference was not statistically significant. Response rates were 70% for psilocybin and 48% for escitalopram; remission rates were 57% and 28%, respectively. Other secondary measures generally favored psilocybin, but those analyses were not corrected for multiple comparisons. The trial did not demonstrate a significant difference in antidepressant effects between psilocybin and escitalopram.