Page 28 - aruba-today-20161203

A28 SCIENCE
Saturday 3 december 2016

‘Magic mushroom’ psychedelic may ease anxiety, depression

cal Center/New York-Pres- Bazer, who lives in New mystical experiences ap-
byterian Hospital. He didn’t York, was diagnosed with peared to play a role in the
participate in the work. ovarian cancer in 2010, drug’s therapeutic effect.
Psilocybin, also called when she was 63. Treat- Walcoff, 69, a psychothera-
shrooms, purple passion ment was successful, but pist in Rochester, New York,
and little smoke, comes then she became anxious also entered the NYU study
from certain kinds of mush- about it coming back. because of her anxiety
rooms. It is illegal in the U.S., “I just began to be filled over a cancer recurrence,
and if the federal govern- with a terrible dread,” she in her case, lymphoma.
ment approves the treat- said in an interview. “You’re (Most participants had ac-
ment, it would be adminis- waiting for the other shoe tive cancer.)
tered in clinics by specially to drop. ... (The anxiety) Psilocybin “opened me up
trained staff, experts say. was ruining my life.” to pursue meditation and
Nobody should try it on their She swallowed a capsule spiritual searching,” Wal-
own, which would be risky, of psilocybin in 2012 in coff said, and as a result of
said the leaders of the two the company of two staff that “I have become reas-
studies, Dr. Stephen Ross of members trained to guide sured and convinced that
New York University and Ro- her through the several that phase of my life is over
In this Monday, Nov. 28, 2016 photo Dinah Bazer poses at her
home in New York. land Griffiths of Johns Hop- hours that the drug would and it’s not going to come
Associated Press kins University in Baltimore. affect her brain. As she lis- back.”
Psychedelic drugs have tened to music through Most funding for the studies
MALCOLM RITTER says the drug experience looked promising in the headphones, her eyes cov- came from the Heffter Re-
AP Science Writer led her to begin a comfort- past for treating distress in ered with a sleep mask, the search Institute, a nonprofit
NEW YORK (AP) — The psy- ing spiritual journey. cancer patients. But studies drug went to work. organization that supports
chedelic drug in “magic The work released Thurs- of medical use of psyche- “Suddenly I was in a dark, studies of psilocybin and
mushrooms” can quickly day is preliminary and ex- delics stopped in the early terrifying place, lost in other hallucinogens.
and effectively help treat perts say more definitive 1970s after a regulatory space, lost in time,” she re- In both studies, psilocybin
anxiety and depression in research must be done crackdown on the drugs, called. “I had no bearings treatment had more effect
cancer patients, an effect on the effects of the sub- following their widespread and I was really, really ter- on anxiety and depression
that may last for months, stance, called psilocybin recreational use. It has rified.” Then she saw her than a placebo did. For
two small studies show. (sih-loh-SY’-bihn). slowly resumed in recent dread of a cancer recur- example, by the day after
It worked for Dinah Bazer, But the record so far shows years. rence as a black mass in treatment, about 80 per-
who endured a terrifying “very impressive results,” Griffiths said it’s not clear her abdomen, and she fu- cent of the treated NYU
hallucination that rid her said Dr. Craig Blinderman, whether psilocybin would riously yelled at it to leave. patients no longer quali-
of the fear that her ovarian who directs the adult pal- work outside of cancer pa- “As soon as that hap- fied as clinically anxious
cancer would return. And liative care service at the tients, although he suspects pened, the fear was gone,” or depressed by standard
for Estalyn Walcoff, who Columbia University Medi- it might work in people fac- she said. “I was just floating measures. That compares
ing other terminal condi- in the music ... like being to about 30 percent for the
tions. Plans are also under- carried in a river.” placebo group. That’s a re-
way to study it in depres- Then she felt deep love for markably fast response, ex-
sion that resists standard her family and friends, and perts said, and it endured
treatment, he said. sensed their love for her. for the seven weeks of the
The new studies, published “It felt like I was bathed in comparison.
in the Journal of Psycho- God’s love ... I’m still an The studies took different
therapy, are small. The NYU atheist, by the way, but approaches for formulat-
project, which also includ- that really seemed to be ing a placebo. At NYU, pa-
ed psychotherapy, cov- the only way to describe tients were given niacin,
ered just 29 patients. The it.” which mimics some effects
Hopkins study had 51. Researchers said such of psilocybin.q