In a Phase 3 clinical trail conducted by MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies): After 18 weeks, 67% of participants in the MDMA group no longer met diagnostic criteria for PTSD, compared with 32% of participants in the placebo group.
In a Phase 2 clinical trial conducted by MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), 86.5% of participants with severe PTSD demonstrated significant improvement in symptoms after receiving MDMA-assisted therapy for 18 weeks, and 71.2% of them no longer met the PTSD diagnostic criteria.
A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that MDMA can be an effective treatment for PTSD, with 67% of patients showing a significant reduction in symptoms after just three sessions.
A study published in The National Library of Medicine found that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy was associated with significant reductions in depression symptoms in patients with chronic PTSD.
A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that psilocybin can help reduce symptoms of treatment-resistant depression in a majority of participants. In the study, 71% of participants saw a significant reduction in depressive symptoms after two doses of psilocybin.
A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that using psilocybin, a component of certain mushrooms, can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression in cancer patients. The study showed that 80% of participants experienced significant reductions in anxiety and depression after just one dose of psilocybin.
A survey conducted by Johns Hopkins University found that 94% of participants who had a mystical experience while using psilocybin reported that it was one of the most spiritually significant experiences of their lives.
There is some evidence in animal studies to show that psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms,” may act by stimulating nerve cell regrowth in parts of the brain responsible for emotion and memory. A 2013 study from the University of South Florida found that psilocybin stimulates neurogenesis—the growth and repair of brain cells in the hippocampus, which is the brain’s center for emotion and memory. In the study, mice that were given psilocybin overcame fear conditioning far better than mice that were given a placebo. The study supported the hypothesis that psilocybin can help break the traumatic cycle that occurs in patients with PTSD.
Stephen Ross, a psychiatrist at NYU Langone, conducted a study on terminally ill cancer patients, and found that one-time treatment with psilocybin very quickly brought relief from distress that had lasted more than 6 months in 80 percent of study subjects.