Could ‘microdosing’ psilocybin help people with anxiety? The purpose of this study is to find out

Researchers in Kingston, Ontario have launched a clinical trial that will look at whether “microdosing” psilocybin – the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms – can provide relief to people suffering from generalized anxiety disorder.

Led by a team from the Kingston Health Sciences Center Research InstituteThis study is being reported First phase 2 clinical trial approved by Health Canada Investigating the effects of small, daily doses of psilocybin.

Hopefully microdosing can address this May reduce symptoms of anxiety Without causing any side effects to the brain, said Dr. Claudio Soares, a psychiatry professor at Queen’s University and lead researcher.

Interest in the medical applications of psychedelics such as psilocybin, ketamine, and LSD has grown rapidly in recent years, with studies beginning across the country.

But much of that work involves high doses or “macrodoses” — because of their hallucinogenic effects — that require study participants to be monitored in medical settings, sometimes for up to half a day, Soares said.

“They have that mystical experience and a change in their perception of their environment — what we call travel,” said Soares, who is also its director. Psychedelics Health and Research Center at Providence Care Hospital, Kingston,

“It’s not for everyone. Some people can’t tolerate that effect of psychedelics.”

How this study works

The Kingston trial will eventually include 60 adults with “debilitating” anxiety but no other medical conditions, Soares said.

They will take small doses of psilocybin at home for four weeks – about two to three milligrams per day. After that, they will be randomly given either a higher psilocybin microdose or a placebo for the next four weeks.

The goal is to see whether participants performed well during the first half of the study, Soares said, and then monitor their anxiety for signs of return or any withdrawal symptoms in the second half.

The data will potentially inform larger Phase 3 trials, typically the final stage before any drug comes to market.

It’s not that unusual to meet someone who says, ‘Oh, I’m microdosing psilocybin and I feel so much better.– Dr. Claudio Soares, lead researcher

The study comes as rates of generalized anxiety disorder are on the rise, more than doubling — from 2.6 per cent to 5.5 per cent — among people aged 15 and older from 2012 to 2022, according to Statistics Canada.

Typical treatments include antidepressants and psychotherapy, but there is a significant subgroup of sufferers who “don’t get better” with those methods, said Dr. Tyler Caster, psychiatrist and medical head of the Temerty Center for Therapeutic Brain Interventions at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto.

Exploring the potential benefits of microdosing psilocybin — though more experimental than most existing macrodose studies — is a “really interesting idea,” Caster said.

“There’s a lot of potential in the whole field of psychedelics. There’s also a lot of excitement, and we need to figure out what role these treatments play.”

hallucinogenic substances

While clinical studies on microdosing psilocybin and anxiety are rare, Soares said there have been anecdotal reports of people taking small doses to treat their mental health conditions.

“It’s not that unusual to meet someone who says, ‘Oh, I’m taking micro-dosing of psilocybin and I feel much better,'” Soares said.

“(But there are very few studies that look at microdosing in a controlled setting in clinical settings, (where) we know exactly what people are taking, for how long (and) what doses.”

Both the current study and the center’s overall work have a broader goal: to destigmatize psilocybin and other psychedelics as a legitimate medical treatment, Soares said.

“They have been used recreationally or religiously for many years or centuries. But they have medicinal value, therapeutic value, that we need to study,” Soares said.

“Because if we don’t study, it stays underground – and then we don’t know how to use them safely.”