Hallucinogen DMT an effective antidepressant in small clinical trial

"One week after the initial dose, only 6 percent of the control group (meaning two individuals) reported improvements in their depression symptoms. In contrast, nearly half (44 percent) of those who received DMT reported feeling better. While the effect began to fade by the 14-week time point, this population was still far better off than when things started. The control group participants, who only got one dose and got it two weeks into the study, showed an interesting trajectory. Their symptoms improved slightly over the first two weeks through some combination of a placebo effect and the counseling that everyone received. But then they got substantially better after the DMT dose, ending up somewhat better by the end of the study."

"There were no serious side effects following treatment, and the less-than-serious ones tended to be short-lived, like a bit of pain at the injection site. There was also a very brief spike in heart rate and blood pressure. Promising start One of the big questions about psychedelics has been whether their hallucinogenic effects and their antidepressant effects are separable. There are definitely indications that the two act through different mechanisms. But this study suggests that may not be the case with DMT."

DMT produced rapid antidepressant responses: 44% of recipients reported improvement one week after the initial dose compared with 6% in the control group. Benefits began to fade by 14 weeks but remained better than baseline. Control participants who received a delayed single DMT dose showed modest early gains likely from placebo and counseling, then substantial improvement after DMT. No serious adverse events were observed; minor effects were transient, including injection-site pain and brief heart rate and blood pressure spikes. Antidepressant response at two weeks correlated with higher Mystical Experience Questionnaire and Ego Dissolution Inventory scores. Administration occurred within a general care plan and requires larger trials and longer follow-up to assess durability and generalizability.

Read at Ars Technica