psychedelic medicine Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Could LSD change the game in anxiety treatment?

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A once-controversial psychedelic substance could potentially be a promising treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). That’s the view of Dr. Rakesh Jain, a psychiatrist with extensive experience in clinical practice, research, and education, affiliated with Texas Tech University School of Medicine. Jain expressed optimism in LSD-based therapy while acknowledging the challenges inherent in such a radical shift, in a recent MindMed analyst briefing on the heels of its MM-120 winning a breakthrough designation for an LSD-based treatment for GAD, based on promising topline data from a phase 2b study.

A once-controversial psychedelic substance could hold the key to treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). This is the view of Dr. Rakesh Jain, a prominent psychiatrist who serves as a clinical professor at the Department of Psychiatry at Texas Tech University School of Medicine. While ack…

Kentucky’s $42 million ibogaine research proposal could face hurdles

[Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels]

In the battle against the opioid crisis, Kentucky made waves earlier this year by proposing to allocate $42 million to investigate ibogaine May 31, 2023, a potentially risky psychedelic that can curb opioid withdrawal and cravings. The state’s Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission has recently selected Attorney General-elect Russell Coleman’s appointment of Christopher Evans as the new executive director, marking a possible shift in the state’s strategy in evaluating ibogaine.

While not dismissing ibogaine outright, Coleman has signaled plans to focus more comprehensively on opioid use disorder prevention. Coleman also appointed a new executive director, Christopher Evans, a veteran of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

A more conservative approach in tackling opioid use disorder would be in line with a view of some medical experts, who have que…

Why Algernon believes it is the Janis Joplin of psychedelic medicine companies

The Canadian company Algernon (CSE:AGN; Frankfurt:AGW0; OTCQB:AGNPF) is the headline sponsor for the Wonderland psychedelic medicine conference held in Miami from November 3 to 5. Algernon CEO Chris Moreau expects the decision to prominently back the event will raise the company’s profile. “We view Algernon as a Janis Joplin voice singing to a junior high crowd right now,” Moreau said. “We’re sort of undiscovered, but the parents in the audience think the music is fantastic. People are looking at each other in amazement, but it’s in the school gym.”

The Vancouver–based company has three drugs in its pipeline — ifenprodil and repirinast for inflammatory disorders and the psychedelic compound DMT for ischemic stroke rehabilitation.

In late October, the company announced a research alliance with Yale University to explore using DMT in a Phase 2 depression study.

In a recent interview, Moreau shared details on its DM…

5 headwinds and 5 tailwinds for psychedelic medicine

Psychedelics were featured at SXSW 2022. [Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]

Decades after compounds like LSD and psilocybin were made illegal , psychedelic medicine appears poised to go mainstream in the coming years, potentially treating conditions ranging from anxiety to PTSD.

In the interim, however, hurdles remain.

The American Psychiatry Association (APA) recently released a conservative position statement on psychedelics and empathogens such as MDMA. In essence, the organization concluded that psychedelic medicine remains at the clinical stage. At present, there is “inadequate scientific evidence for endorsing the use of psychedelics to treat any psychiatric disorder except within the context of approved investigational studies,” APA noted.

While the APA said it supports rigorous clinical research into the compounds, “clinical treatments should be determined by scientific…