 Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, may be a potential treatment for anorexia, new research suggests. A single dose of the psychedelic, given alongside psychological support, is a safe and acceptable treatment for patients with the condition and may decrease eating-disorder behaviour, according to the study. The findings come from a small phase one clinical trial published in the journal Nature Medicine. Experts suggest the results provide a foundation for future studies to continue to evaluate psilocybin therapy as a new avenue for treatment. The study authors said: 'Results suggest that psilocybin therapy is safe, tolerable and acceptable for female anorexia nervosa, which is a promising finding given physiological dangers and problems with treatment engagement.' Anorexia is an eating disorder and serious mental health condition. People who have anorexia try to keep their weight as low as possible by not eating enough food or exercising too much, or both. This can make them very ill because they start to starve. Additionally, people with the condition often have a distorted image of their bodies, thinking they are fat even when they are underweight. Anorexia is an eating disorder and serious mental health condition (Picture: Shutterstock) Men and women of any age can get anorexia, but it's most common in young women and typically starts in the mid-teens, according to the NHS. The condition is difficult to treat and there are currently no proven treatments for adult anorexia to reverse the core symptoms, and there are also no approved drugs. Psilocybin therapy has been shown to be a promising treatment for other mental illnesses and is associated with improvements in anxiety, cognitive flexibility and self-acceptance. Stephanie Knatz Peck, from the University of California in the USA, and her colleagues investigated the){kind=link}
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Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, may be a potential treatment for anorexia, new research suggests.
A single dose of the psychedelic, given alongside psychological support, is a safe and acceptable treatment for patients with the condition and may decrease eating-disorder behaviour, according to the study.
The findings come from a small phase one clinical trial published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Experts suggest the results provide a foundation for future studies to continue to evaluate psilocybin therapy as a new avenue for treatment.