Over the past few years, the potential benefits of psychotropic drugs have slowly moved from “hippie nonsense” to “science-backed research.” From magic mushrooms to psychedelic toad milk, a small new study from Stanford University suggests that tripping balls may actually be very effective against certain mental illnesses, such as those caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI). It seems increasingly clear that this may be an effective treatment.
“No other drug can reduce the functional and neuropsychiatric symptoms of traumatic brain injury,” said Nolan Williams, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and co-author of the study. mentioned in. statement. “The results are dramatic and we intend to study this compound further.”
The drug in question is ibogaine, a drug you may have never heard of. It comes from the roots of the iboga shrub, which grows in central Africa. In fact, it has a history of being used locally for rituals and religion. go back centuries.
The use of this compound in Western medicine is less established, but still dates back at least 60 years, to pharmacologist Howard Lotsoff. I noticed it for the first time But even though he patented this treatment and ibogaine is widely used in drug treatment clinics around the world, the substance remains illegal in the United States and is punishable regardless of the amount in possession. It turns out. up to 20 years In prison.
However, it is legal in Mexico. Williams and others found trial volunteers in Mexico. The 30 special operations veterans, all suffering from disabilities from traumatic brain injuries, had independently checked into a Mexican clinic for treatment. Magnesium and ibogaine.
“These men were incredibly intelligent and high-achieving individuals who experienced life-altering impairments from traumatic brain injuries in combat,” Williams said. “They were all willing to try anything they thought would help them get their lives back.”
Pre-trial assessments showed that the average score on the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS-2), a multidimensional measure of disability and health, was greater than 30, indicating mild to moderate disability. It turns out. Some were much higher than that. Many in the group also met criteria for PTSD, anxiety disorders, suicidality, and alcohol use disorders, all of which are known to co-occur with traumatic brain injury.
However, after treatment with ibogaine, the participants' symptoms improved significantly and rapidly. Immediately after intervention, mean WHODAS-2.0 scores were below 20, indicating borderline to mild impairment, and veterinary executive function and cognitive processing speed showed significant improvement. And the results continued to improve. One month after treatment, his WHODAS-2.0 score decreased to 5.1, indicating no disability. Symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety also decreased by more than 80 percent on average.
“This drug appears to have a wide range of dramatic and consistent effects,” Williams said. Nature. But here a question arises. Did ibogaine actually help?
Although the findings are encouraging for many reasons, the researchers are not shy about their limitations. This was not a randomized controlled trial and centered around a very small group of participants who were completely self-selected. Neither of them are representative of the entire population and to be honest; some kind of They plan to take some time off while they receive treatment.
“We cannot rule out the possibility that the treatment effect was an expected outcome. [ibogaine]the authors acknowledged in their study. “Likewise, the complementary treatment approaches available to them while in Mexico may have played a role in the treatment effects we observed.”
Even if that was As for ibogaine, we don't fully understand the mechanism of this drug to determine whether it was helping the veterinarian's traumatic brain injury or something else. “Improvement is [cognitive disability] The score may be associated with improvement in traumatic brain injury, but it may also be associated with improvement in PTSD and depression, which are associated with cognitive impairment.'' said John Crystal, professor of psychiatry. , neuroscience and psychology told. Today's medical news. “Thus, we cannot infer from this study that ibogaine is an effective treatment for TBI, even though all of the patients had TBI.”
Still, the results are “very encouraging,” said Crystal, who was not involved in the study. “I believe [this] Although further research into the safety and efficacy of ibogaine as a treatment is warranted, its introduction in clinical practice is not yet supported. ”
The research will be published in a journal natural medicine.
