Farmacja Polska
September 28, 2020
Agata Tadeja
1 citation
Research on psychedelic drugs in medicine was largely halted after the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, but earlier studies, though methodologically weak, suggested potential benefits. Current studies are exploring the use of substances such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and cannabis in treating psychiatric disorders. Psilocybin therapy, combined with psychotherapy, shows promise for anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. LSD may help terminal cancer patients and drug addicts. MDMA could benefit people with post-traumatic stress disorder or social anxiety in adult autism when standard therapies fail. Cannabis has proven effects for PTSD, epilepsy, neurological pain, and skin conditions. Designer drugs that mimic classical drugs may offer new treatments, but their safety and efficacy require rigorous testing.
Farmacja Polska
December 30, 2025
Ewa Niedzielska-Andres, Angelika Ziaja, Stanisław Zielinski et al.
Natural hallucinogens such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, ibogaine, and mescaline show therapeutic potential for treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, existential anxiety, and substance addictions. Psilocybin has the best-documented evidence, with controlled trials indicating rapid and lasting improvement in treatment-resistant depression, reduction of existential anxiety, easing of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and support for addiction therapy, alongside a favorable safety profile. Ayahuasca exhibits antidepressant and anxiolytic effects and potential in addiction treatment. Ibogaine reduces withdrawal and drug craving in opioid addiction and PTSD symptoms in war veterans but requires caution due to cardiotoxic side effects.
Farmacja Polska
February 3, 2024
Marta Jóźwiak-Bębenista, Paulina Sokołowska, Edward Kowalczyk et al.
In some patients with depression—especially those who do not respond to standard antidepressants or who have suicidal thoughts—inflammation and cytokines contribute to treatment failure. Ketamine, particularly S-ketamine, offers a fast-acting antidepressant option for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Its antidepressant mechanism is complex and not fully understood, but mainly involves modulating the glutamatergic system, which produces rapid effects and supports neuroplasticity. Recent research highlights ketamine's anti-inflammatory properties and its influence on tryptophan metabolism. This narrative review, based on literature from November 2006 to November 2023, summarizes current knowledge that preclinical and clinical studies show ketamine has anti-inflammatory effects, directly or indirectly activating neuroprotective branches of the kynurenine pathway, at least in some TRD patients.