Microdosing psilocybin

The focus of this website is to encourage psilocybin research for the treatment of PTSD. However, there has been numerous news articles recently exploring the use of microdoses of psilocybin and other 5-HT2A receptor agonists.  Reported benefits include lifting of depression, increased energy, and increased creativity. Two of these articles have been from prominent, traditional publications:

• Short Trip? More People 'Microdosing' on Psychedelic Drugs  NBC News July 2015
• LSD Microdosing Deserves More Serious Research  Forbes November 2015

James Fadiman Ph.D., who has been involved with psychedelic research since the 1960's, published a book in 2011 titled The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys.  One chapter of the book is devoted to microdosing.

I'm not sure at what point a "low dose" becomes a "microdose" but the concepts are similar.  In an earlier post, "Comment on low dose psilocybin for treatment of PTSD", I discussed how The article by Catlow BJ et al. (Exp Brain Res. 2013 Jun 2. [Epub ahead of print]), demonstrates how a low dose (0.1 mg/kg) of psilocybin helps mice overcome a conditioned fear response significantly quicker than a medium (0.5 mg/kg) or high dose of psilocybin (1.0 mg/kg) and results in hippocampal neurogenesis while the higher doses result in a decrease in cell survival.

Antidepressant medication known as SSRIs (serotonin reuptake reuptake inhibitors) are thought to work by increasing synaptogenesis/neurogenesis.  Given the results of the Catlow study above, it is reasonable to conclude that microdosing also results in an increase in hippocampal synaptogenesis/neurogenesis as well.

The good thing about microdosing with psilocybin is that no prescription is required.  The bad thing about microdosing with psilocybin is that no prescription is available. This discrepancy will change when Federal authorities move psychedelics from Schedule I to Schedule II status. Reclassification as schedule II will allow unimpeded research to determine how it works, effective dosages, and potential side effects.  Since a significant portion of the American public is attempting to work this out themselves, professional guidance would be prudent.

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Aug 4, 2015) found that current treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) such as Prolonged Exposure Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy are not proving effective. "There is a need for improvement in existing PTSD treatments and for development and testing of novel evidence-based treatments, both trauma-focused and non–trauma-focused".   Psilocybin is a novel treatment that deserves to be investigated as it holds great promise to end the suffering of many with PTSD when provided with appropriate Set and Setting. The therapeutic psilocybin sessions could be couched within concurrent Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to allow the therapeutic integration of the psychedelic/spiritual experience. The JAMA article above has been cited by (Google Scholar).

NSI-189

Another promising antidepressant, NSI-189, has just completed a phase 1B Clinical Trial, led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators with the results published in Molecular Psychiatry on 8 December 2015 (PDF). What makes this compound especially promising is it a nicotinamide derivative that was first developed as part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded program and it promotes hippocampal neurogenesis. Niacin, or vitamin B3, is rapidly converted into nicotinamide after ingestion.

Astaxanthin and exercise are two additional adjuncts to hippocampal neurogenesis.

Choosing compounds that are closely related to natural, essential nutrients and avoiding halogenated hydrocarbons may be a wise choice.  Many pharmaceutical companies will add a fluorine or chlorine atom to an organic compound to give it a specific shape.  The addition of a halogen to an organic compound will frequently increase it's toxicity. "Unlike the aromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbons, the halogenated hydrocarbons tend to cause a wider range of toxicity" (source Medscape). A good method of determining if drugs have added halogens is to look in Wikipedia for the chemical structure of to Google the drug name with the added term 'structure' in the search.  Next choose 'Images' as the Google option.  Examples:

NSI-189 (Wikipedia)

NSI-189 (Google Images)

If you own a pet and treat them for fleas, you may want to stay away from Frontline for fleas. This is the 'Mother of all halogenated hydrocarbons' and I'm wondering if it doesn't increase cancer rates significantly.