Psilocybin, secreted from hallucinogenic mushrooms, helps cancer patients to relieve anxiety and depression. This was found by scientists from New York University and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the United States, Bloomberg reports.
The New York University study involved 29 people with advanced cancer. The patients were divided into two groups. One received a dose containing 0.3 milligrams of psychedelic psilocybin per kilogram of body, the other was given nicotinic acid. Seven weeks later, the groups switched places. The results of the experiment showed that the psychedelic was able to reduce the severity of symptoms of depression and anxiety for up to eight months, which in turn reduced the risk of suicide, lenta.ru describes the course of the trial.
In another study, researchers examined 51 patients. The participants in the experiment were also divided into two groups. In the first, the effective doses of psilocybin were taken for five weeks, in the second very low. The results were similar to those obtained by scientists from New York University.
Psilocybin is found in mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe. It has a structure similar to serotonin, one of the neurotransmitters through which impulses are transmitted between neurons. This substance is capable of making people who take it a sense of connection with otherworldly forces.