30/09/2024
A psilocybin-based drug developed by biotech company Psilera has passed a key milestone for human safety, the company announced last week. Psilocybin is an active ingredient in psychedelic or "magic" mushrooms, although this pharmaceutical version will not make anyone travel.
The drug, called PSIL-006, could treat frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the second most common form of early onset dementia after Alzheimer's disease. According to the Alzheimer's Association, FTD affects about 60,000 Americans at any given time. There is currently no FDA-approved treatment for FTD.
In its latest studies, Tampa-based Psilera found that PSIL-006 had a "robust" safety profile, suggesting it may be safe for human use. In models mimicking FTD, PSIL-006 improved memory, sleep and learning. However, the FDA will need more studies (which could take years) before giving the drug the green light, including extensive studies in live human patients.
It is this last part - the human trials - where PSIL-006 may succeed where other psychedelic treatments have failed: in double-blind placebo trials. It is also why Psilera designed PSIL-006 to lack the intoxicating effects of psilocybin.
Modifying the psilocybin trip also has additional benefits. For example, anyone with certain mental disorders or sensitivity to psilocybin, who is unable or unwilling to take mushrooms, could benefit from PSIL-006.
If you want to discover more about the potential therapeutic effects of , we recommend Psychedelics and Mental Health by Irene de Caso, as well as Your Brain with Psychedelics, by Genís Oña, where you will learn the keys to the effects of psychedelics, capable of producing significant changes in the processes of perception, thought and consciousness. The book also includes a prologue written by one of the greatest eminences in this field, José Carlos Bouso, scientific director of ICEERS.
*Text extracted from the DoubleBlindMag.com article: https://doubleblindmag.com/biotech-firm-makes-trip-free-psilocybin-drug-to-treat-dementia/