Earlier in July, the University of New Mexico (UNM) announced it is launching two new studies to examine the effects of psychedelic compounds on depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other conditions.
The first study, RECONNECT, will examine the effectiveness of RE104, a novel compound related to psilocybin in the treatment of postpartum depression. “The exciting thing about this one is it has the potential to quickly reverse postpartum depression,” said Dr. Larry Leeman, Professor at the Departments of Family & Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.
“I have an interest because it might be useful in cases where a shorter experience might be more useful,” he added. “While some people experiencing postpartum depression have a pre-existing mood disorder, many experience it only as an outcome of pregnancy, and might need just one treatment session to recover.”
The second study, uAspire, will examine the potential benefits of psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in some species of mushrooms, for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Earlier studies have found that taking psilocybin can help people reframe their traumatic memories and reduce their distress. Moreover, the study is designed so that all participants can eventually receive psilocybin. “This is an issue with randomized controlled trials, especially if you take people that are in emotional pain,” said Dr. Leeman. “Study participants who desperately hope a trial medication will alleviate their distress may actually feel worse if they receive an inactive placebo. “It’s like a negative placebo – a nocebo.” As part of the study, participants will receive either 25 mg of psilocybin, 5 mg of psilocybin, or an inactive placebo. “In six weeks, you get re-scored for depression, and if you meet the criteria then, without anyone knowing what you got in the randomized portion, you become able to be re-dosed in the open label session for a total of four times in the next year,” he said.
These new studies are part of Dr. Leeman’s current research project to evaluate whether therapy coupled with the drug MDMA (also known as ecstasy) can help postpartum mothers with opioid use disorder overcome their addictions. It is theorized that MDMA sessions facilitated by trained therapists will alleviate the PTSD symptoms that often drive illicit drug use, according to Dr. Leeman.
In recent years, UNM researchers including Dr. Snehal Bhatt, professor of Psychiatry and chief of the Division of Addictions Psychiatry, published a study demonstrating that psilocybin-assisted therapy can be used for the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Currently, Dr. Bhatt is taking part in the KMD (Ketamine for Methamphetamine Dependence) study, in order to evaluate the use of ketamine as a treatment for methamphetamine addiction.
“Methamphetamine, in particular, is posing a huge public health challenge,” he said in a press release. “Here in New Mexico and around the country the rates are just going up. At the moment there are few effective treatments for methamphetamine addiction, but there is hope that ketamine might be a game-changer.”
