A cup of coffee for depression treatment has better results than microdosing

"About a decade ago, many media outlets-including WIRED-zeroed in on a weird trend at the intersection of mental health, drug science, and Silicon Valley biohacking: microdosing, or the practice of taking a small amount of a psychedelic drug seeking not full-blown hallucinatory revels but gentler, more stable effects. Typically using psilocybin mushrooms or LSD, the archetypal microdoser sought less melting walls and open-eye kaleidoscopic visuals than boosts in mood and energy, like a gentle spring breeze blowing through the mind."

"Anecdotal reports pitched microdosing as a kind of psychedelic Swiss Army knife, providing everything from increased focus to a spiked libido and (perhaps most promisingly) lowered reported levels of depression. It was a miracle for many. Others remained wary. Could 5 percent of a dose of acid really do all that?"

"A Phase 2B trial of 89 adult patients conducted by Melbourne-based MindBio Therapeutics, investigating the effects of microdosing LSD in the treatment of major depressive disorder, found that the psychedelic was actually outperformed by a placebo. Across an eight-week period, symptoms were gauged using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), a widely recognized tool for the clinical evaluation of depression."

Microdosing emerged about a decade ago as a trend combining mental health, drug science, and Silicon Valley biohacking, typically using psilocybin or LSD and aiming for subtle mood and energy boosts rather than full hallucinations. Anecdotal reports attributed many benefits to microdosing, including increased focus, libido changes, and reductions in reported depression. A Phase 2B trial by Melbourne-based MindBio Therapeutics enrolled 89 adults with major depressive disorder to test microdosing LSD. The trial measured symptoms over eight weeks using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and found that LSD microdosing was outperformed by placebo. Top-line results were posted publicly by the company's CEO.

Read at Ars Technica