P-10 Investigating the effectiveness of psilocybin use in the treatment of depression
Author(s):
R Nanton, C Wilson-Clarke
Year of Presentation:
2025
Objective: 1. To identify if psilocybin is an efficacious
treatment option for Depression. 2. To determine if psilocybin offers any substantial advantages over traditional treatment options.
Methods: Following the systematic review procedure, the research questions were first established. Next, the relevant databases (PubMed and Nature) were selected, and the inclusion criteria and key search terms were defined. A comprehensive search was then conducted using these databases. Articles that met the inclusion criteria were screened, and those deemed relevant were included in the review. Data regarding the study type, efficacy, most common adverse drug reactions (ADRs), primary depression measurement scale, psilocybin dosage, number of participants who completed the study, and study duration were extracted and tabulated.
Results: The results show that psilocybin had anti-depressive effects on the day of administration at doses between ten and twenty-five milligrams and was able to lower the depression measurement scale used in each study. Sameday relief was a notable advantage when compared to traditional antidepressants such as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) e.g. escitalopram and citalopram, which can take four to six weeks before having an effect. Some studies gave a single dose of psilocybin, while others gave two doses a week apart. In both cases, the anti-depressive effects of psilocybin were shown to last for four to five weeks without the use of additional treatment. The most common adverse drug reactions reported in subjects who received psilocybin were nausea and headaches.
Conclusion: Psilocybin was well-tolerated and efficacious in patients with Major Depressive Disorder and had a faster onset of action and longer duration of action between doses than most antidepressants. However, eight of these studies excluded patients with other psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder, that may not have tolerated psilocybin well. Therefore, larger and longer double-blind randomized controlled trials are needed to identify how psilocybin may affect these patients and investigate any long-term adverse drug reactions psilocybin may have.