A single dose of psilocybin (0.143 mg/kg) reduced weekly migraine days by an average of 1.65 days per week over two weeks, significantly more than placebo (0.15 days per week). The reduction in migraine frequency was not linked to the intensity of acute psychedelic effects during the session. Ten adults with migraine completed the double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Psilocybin was well-tolerated with no serious adverse events. The findings suggest a lasting therapeutic effect after one dose, distinct from the immediate psychological experience, pointing to a separate mechanism that warrants further study in migraine and other conditions.
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.