OPEN Foundation

Day: 10 July 2020

Changes in inflammatory biomarkers are related to the antidepressant effects of Ayahuasca

July 10, 2020 / Ayahuasca, Depression, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Background: Ayahuasca is a traditional Amazon brew and its potential antidepressant properties have recently been explored in scientific settings. We conducted a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of ayahuasca with treatment-resistant depression patients (n = 28) and healthy controls (n = 45).

Aims: We are evaluating the blood inflammatory biomarkers: C-reactive protein and interleukin 6, as a potential consequence of ayahuasca intake and their correlation with serum cortisol and brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels. Blood samples were collected at pre-treatment and 48 hours after substance ingestion to assess the concentration of inflammatory biomarkers, together with administration of the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale.

Results: At pre-treatment, patients showed higher C-reactive protein levels than healthy controls and a significant negative correlation between C-reactive protein and serum cortisol levels was revealed (rho = -0.40, n = 14). C-reactive protein in those patients was not correlated with Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores. We observed a significant reduction of C-reactive protein levels across time in both patients and controls treated with ayahuasca, but not with placebo. Patients treated with ayahuasca showed a significant correlation (rho = + 0.57) between larger reductions of C-reactive protein and lower depressive symptoms at 48 hours after substance ingestion (Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale). No significant result with respect to interleukin 6 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor was found. Furthermore, these biomarkers did not predict the antidepressant response or remission rates observed.

Conclusions: These findings enhance the understanding of the biological mechanisms behind the observed antidepressant effects of ayahuasca and encourage further clinical trials in adults with depression.

Galvão-Coelho, N. L., de Menezes Galvão, A. C., de Almeida, R. N., Palhano-Fontes, F., Campos Braga, I., Lobão Soares, B., … & de Araujo, D. B. (2020). Changes in inflammatory biomarkers are related to the antidepressant effects of Ayahuasca. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 34(10), 1125-1133; 10.1177/0269881120936486
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Psychedelic Research and the Need for Transparency: Polishing Alice's Looking Glass

July 10, 2020 / Other disciplines, Other subjects, Papers, Psychotherapy, Publications, Sociology / By / , ,

Abstract

Psychedelics have a checkered past, alternately venerated as sacred medicines and vilified as narcotics with no medicinal or research value. After decades of international prohibition, a growing dissatisfaction with conventional mental health care and the pioneering work of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Science (MAPS) and others has sparked a new wave of psychedelic research. Positive media coverage and new entrepreneurial interest in this potentially lucrative market, along with their attendant conflicts of interest, have accelerated the hype. Given psychedelics’ complex history, it is especially important to proceed with care, holding ourselves to a higher scientific rigor and standard of transparency. Universities and researchers face conflicting interests and perverse incentives, but we can avoid missteps by expecting rigorous and transparent methods in the growing science of psychedelics. This paper provides a pragmatic research checklist and discusses the importance of using the modern research and transparency standards of Open Science using preregistration, open materials and data, reporting constraints on generality, and encouraging replication. We discuss specific steps researchers should take to avoid another replication crisis like those devastating psychology, medicine, and other fields. We end with a discussion of researcher intention and the value of actively deciding to abide by higher scientific standards. We can build a rigorous, transparent, replicable psychedelic science by using Open Science to understand psychedelics’ potential as they re-enter science and society.

Petranker, R., Anderson, T., & Farb, N. (2020). Psychedelic research and the need for transparency: Polishing Alice’s Looking Glass. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 1681.; https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01681
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30 April - Q&A with Rick Strassman

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