Shanghai researchers have made a breakthrough in the use of psilocybin – a natural psychedelic extracted from more than 200 species of fungi – in the treatment of depression, reports Shine.
While studies have shown psilocybin greatly lessens the severity of the symptoms of depression, as a psychedelic drug it remains controversial and illegal in most countries, hindering research and application.
However, Shanghai scientists have now analyzed psilocin, an active metabolite of psilocybin, and designed new compounds based on it.
Early trial results were positive, showing no hallucinatory side effects, opening the door to a new-generation remedy for depression.
Commonly prescribed antidepressants are currently the most popular mode of treatment for the illness, but their effects are slow, usually taking several weeks or even months, while a third of patients do not respond to anti-depressants at all.
In comparison, the effects of psilocybin are almost instantaneous.
The researchers, led by Wang Sheng from the Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Cheng Jianjun, from the iHuman Institute at ShanghaiTech University, published their findings in the journal Science.
The results offer hope to millions afflicted by depression; according to the World Health Organization, some 280 million people suffer from the illness worldwide, 3.8 percent of the global population.
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