PEOPLE who suffer with depression could one day have their symptoms alleviated by magic mushrooms, scientists claim.
They say the unconventional approach could provide fast-acting treatment and revolutionise future therapy.
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It comes as one in every four people suffer with depression in the UK, with the figure continuing to climb.
Researchers from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine made the revelation after exploring the effects of psychedelics on depression.
In particular, they found that a single dose of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, has fast-acting antidepressant effects – generally within hours.
In comparison, traditional antidepressants can take much longer to have a positive effect and don’t last as long.
Fast-acting
Javier González-Maeso, a doctor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, said: “Patients with depression need to receive antidepressants for weeks or even months to start to see the first therapeutic effects.
“Not only that — within that period of time, the risk of suicide goes up.”
In particular, González-Maeso pointed to a study that revealed 80 per cent of people diagnosed with terminal cancer and depression who received a single dose of psilocybin had continued to show improvements in their mood after six months.
Despite the drug showing promise as a treatment for depression, it carries a seven-year prison term for possession in the UK.
Therapeutic effects
And Mario de la Fuente Revenga, another doctor from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, added that it will take “rock-hard scientific evidence” before they can be used by physicians.
He added: “This does not mean that the average Joe feeling blue will be able to go to the closest pharmacy to get his dose of therapeutic mushrooms any time soon.”
A major aspect of that evidence will come from uncovering how psychedelic compounds produce antidepressant effects.
These researchers are now trying to uncover the underlying changes that magic mushrooms promote in the brain.
This does not mean that the average Joe feeling blue will be able to go to the closest pharmacy to get his dose of therapeutic mushrooms any time soon
Mario de la Fuente Revenga, doctor at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
As part of their preclinical research, González-Maeso and de la Fuente found that when mice are given a single dose of a psychedelic compound, it reduces behaviour associated with depression.
González-Maeso presented these findings at the inaugural meeting of the International Society for Research on Psychedelics in New Orleans in October.
He said: “If we understand at a molecular level how psychedelics induce antidepressant activity, we could design much better therapeutic drugs than we currently have in the clinic.
“The ultimate goal is to find drugs that induce antidepressant effects without inducing psychosis-like effects.”
What is depression?
Depression is not just a feeling of unhappiness or being a bit fed up for a few days – which is common and totally normal.
Those who are suffering from depression can suffer from an immense feeling of sadness that can last for weeks and maybe even months.
Everyone is different and the condition can manifest itself in different ways but is often described as a total disconnect from all feelings of happiness.
The NHS warns against trivialising depression as not a genuine health problem on its website: “Some people think depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They’re wrong – it is a real illness with real symptoms.”
The symptoms for depression can be varied in different people.
A lot of people suffer from a lasting feeling of hopelessness and can sometimes lose interest in things that previously made them happy.
Sufferers can also become teary and struggle with the symptoms of anxiety.
Physical symptoms can include tiredness, poor sleeping patterns, lack of appetite and sex drive, as well as aches and pains.
At its most severe patients can become suicidal.
And de la Fuente added: “Psychedelics have been a banned field for decades.
“Now, with a more open attitude, we have all of the technological advances that we’ve accumulated over this time to apply to a growing field that almost nobody has explored before.
“From a scientific point of view, it is essentially the ‘promised land’ and will hopefully yield results that will make a real difference in the clinic.”
