F.D.A. Panel Votes Against MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD

The Food and Drug Administration’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly to reject MDMA-assisted therapy in the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

The FDA will issue its final decision on the matter in mid-August but in the majority of cases, the federal agency’s decisions align with the vote of the independent panelists on advisory committees.

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Psilocybin for Anorexia

A recent study has shed light on the potential of psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, as a promising treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN).

This psychiatric disorder, known for its high mortality rate, has long been a challenging condition to treat effectively.

The research, conducted at Monash University, revealed that psilocybin could improve cognitive flexibility and help maintain body weight in an animal model of AN.

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Novel 5-MeO-DMT Formulation BPL-003

Beckley Psytech Ltd, the private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of people living with neuropsychiatric disorders by developing effective and rapid-acting psychedelic medicines, today announced the publication of a new paper in The Journal of Psychopharmacology which demonstrates the safety, tolerability and rapid-acting subjective effects of BPL-003, Beckley Psytech’s novel, synthetic, intranasal benzoate salt formulation of 5-MeO-DMT (also known as mebufotenin). 

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Psychological Flexibility and Psychedelics

In a new study, researchers found that psychological flexibility, several facets of mindfulness, and values-congruent living significantly improved following psilocybin and were maintained through week 16.

Additionally, improvements in psychological flexibility and experiential acceptance were strongly associated with reductions in depression severity following psilocybin.

Keep reading for the full article at Nature.com

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Psychedelics, Psychosis and Manic Symptoms

A new study analyzed data from the Swedish Twin Registry, a national dataset that includes self-reported drug use and psychotic and manic symptom occurrence.

The researchers’ analyses found no significant association between psychedelic use and psychotic symptoms, but in comparing identical twin pairs in which one had taken psychedelics while the other had not, the twin who’d tried psychedelics was more likely to report experiencing manic symptoms.

In the twin data researchers reviewed, mania was also strongly correlated with a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia and to bipolar I disorder.

In other words, those who experienced manic symptoms after psychedelic use may have been more genetically prone to mental illnesses.

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