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Interest in using psychedelic drugs to treat patients with depression is growing. Psilocybin is the most-studied drug in this class: Its unique hallucinogenic and psychedelic properties distinguish it from ketamine, which is used increasingly in patients with treatment-resistant depression.
A new 11-site study — the fifth randomized trial of psilocybin for depression reported during the past 3 years — was published recently (JAMA 2023; 330:843). About 100 depressed patients (mean age, 41) who were not receiving medication were randomized to a single oral dose of psilocybin (25 mg) or active placebo (niacin). Average duration of the current depressive episode was about 1 year, 12% of patients were treatment-resistant, and most patients had ha…