Expanding Psych: Recent Episodes
Keenan Teghtsoonian
Expanding Psych is dedicated to providing updates on studies and policies involving experimental psychedelic therapies in the treatment of mental health disorders from a pharmacist to be.
All information presented is publicly available. I do not receive any compensation for producing this cast. It is meant mainly to reduce stigma associated with mental health and non-traditional therapies often seen as being nothing more than illegal drugs of abuse.
Any opinions I share are my own and do not represent any employer, association or society. This cast should not be taken as investing advice.
In this episode we take a look at a recent publication which has had a media field day. Claims of psilocybin being four times as effective as typical antidepressant medications have run rampant. Does the data from this study really support a conclusion of that magnitude? If you would like to read the studies cited in the cast they can be found here:
Madsen (2019) - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-019-0324-9
Williams (2008) - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18408526/
Davis (2020) - https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2772630
Kennedy (2016) - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994790/
Dinis-Oliveira - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28074670/
Fournier (2010) - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20051569/
Dimidjian (2006) - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16881773/
In this episode we explore the development of studies examining Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in various psychiatric conditions. From its synthesis in 1938 this chemical has garnered equal parts mysticism and criticism. Entering into the early 1970's many studies which were beginning to characterize LSD and its profound psychological effects ceased as the war on drugs hit back with full force. As a result over the last five decades there has been little in the way of progress. A newfound 'psychedelic renaissance' has re-ignited interest in LSD as a potential therapeutic in a myriad of psychiatric conditions. Most trials of the drug are still in their infancy so getting a good amount of foundational knowledge will be key to understanding developments in the future. If you would like to read the studies cited in the cast they can be found here:
Lipari & Jean-Francois (2016) - https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_2418/ShortReport-2418.html
Yockley et al. (2020) - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376871620302362
Schmid et al. (2015) - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25575620/
Kuypers et al. (2020) - https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsptsci.0c00099
Liechti et al. (2018) - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158218300755
Fuentes et al. (2020) - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00943/full
Schmid & Liechti (2017) - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28918441/
Nutt, Carhart-Harris & Roseman (2018) - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2017.00974/full
Holze et al. (2020) - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-020-00883-6
In this episode we take a look at the recent section 56 exemption approved by Health Canada for psilocybin use in four terminally ill cancer patients. This approval represents a huge step forward in the treatment of mental health disorders and could have some interesting implications. Link to my October 2019 paper: https://www.docdroid.net/CmPlLos/marijuana-as-an-entryway-to-psychedelic-therapy-docx
In this episode we examine what the current landscape of mental health therapies looks like along with the pressures of the current global health climate in terms of driving innovation. If you would like to read the studies cited in the cast they can be found here: Fava and Davidson, 1996: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8827185/ Rush, 2006: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17074942/ Samples, 2016: https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1176/appi.ps.201400021 Pratt, 2017: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db283.htm Wu, 2005: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3320475/ Liu, 2006: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X11000216 Wu, 2006: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2720767/ I also highly recommend reading this paper for a brief overview of the history of mental health therapies beyond what I had time to mention in the cast: Hillhouse, 2015: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4428540/
In this episode we examine the initial development of 18-MC from ibogaine and review three of the pioneering studies performed by Dr. Stanley Glick that allowed future research into 18-MC to be possible. If you would like to read the 1991 study it can be found here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1868880 If you would like to read the 1996 study it can be found here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8782860 If you would like to read the 2000 study it can be found here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11085336 I have also done a short write up summarizing the 2000 paper which can be found here: https://www.docdroid.net/MoP6P2V/18-mc-analysis-of-efficacy-and-safety-pdf
An analysis of Mind Medicine's recently initiated clinical trial investigating the safety of 18-methoxycoronaridine (18-MC) for use in a human population. The study design can be found here: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04292197