New Research Suggests Psychedelics Have Proven Potential in Alcoholism, Drug-Addiction Treatment

Recently conducted research may have found new approaches to treat alcohol-use disorder. One study determined that administering psilocybin is both effective and safe in decreasing the consumption of alcohol in patients with alcohol-use disorder. This study examined 10 adults with severe alcohol use disorder during the 12-week research period.

For their open-label study, investigators at the University of Copenhagen administered one 25mg psilocybin dose to each participant. They observed that the consumption of alcohol by participants reduced significantly, with most of them consuming fewer drinks and craving alcohol less following the treatment.

In their report, the researchers explained that the participants also reported that their confidence in their ability to avoid alcohol had increased.

Individual analyzes show that at week four, nine of the participants considerably decreased drinks consumed daily, with seven of the participants still reporting considerable reductions in drinks consumed daily at the 12-week mark.

In addition, the investigators observed no consequential changes in measures of trait mindfulness, psychological flexibility, or depressive symptoms. They then noted that their findings aligned with existing data, reinforcing the potential benefits of this therapeutic approach.

The study had some limitations, however, including the lack of blinding or a control group, as well as a small sample. The investigators argued that this prevented any causal conclusions on effectiveness to be made.

Furthermore, selection bias due to high expectations from positive media coverage and self-referral may have partly influenced the observed effects. The investigators noted that this highlighted the need for larger, placebo-controlled, single-dose trials to establish firm conclusions.

The research, coauthored by NIDA director, Nora Volkow was reported online at Research Square.

A separate study concluded that classic psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin had shown potential in treating drug addiction, particularly alcohol-use disorder. For their study, researchers at the University of Southern Sata Catarina conducted an analysis of prior studies into classic psychedelics, concluding that the drugs had shown potential in the treatment of drug addiction.

In their report, the scientists stated that the substances worked mainly be modulating neuroplasticity in the brain, noting that serotonergic psychedelics needed to be considered as treatment options to manage drug-use disorders because they didn’t produce withdrawal symptoms or physical dependence with repeated use.

The researchers did caution that psychedelic-assisted therapies weren’t effective for all patients. They also highlighted the need for further research using experimental protocols and different doses to be carried out to add to evidence on psychedelic drugs.

The researchers published their findings in the “Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry” journal.

Other companies, such as Seelos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SEEL), are also conducting their own psychedelic drug development programs with a focus on psilocybin and other hallucinogenic compounds. In time, some of these drug candidates could hit the shelves after going through the regulatory approval process.

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