Psychedelic wonder drug of the 60s can improve Parkinsons symptoms for weeks: study

Here’s some groovy news.A mind-bending blast from the past — once hailed as a “wonder drug” that could cure everything from anxiety to addiction — is making a comeback.Psilocybin — the psychedelic compound that gave “magic mushrooms” their trippy reputation in the 1960s — is now showing serious promise for improving mood and motor function in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to a groundbreaking recent study.​In the first trial of its kind, researchers administered a single dose of psilocybin to patients battling Parkinson’s — a degenerative brain disorder that affects nearly 1 million Americans.The results? Not just a safe trip, but one that delivered weeks of relief from the tremors, stiffness and depression that often plague patients.“Many people don’t realize this, but mood symptoms in Parkinson’s are linked to a faster physical decline,” Ellen Bradley, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UC San Francisco, said in a statement.“And they are actually a stronger predictor of patients’ quality of life with Parkinson’s than their motor symptoms.”The study, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, indicates participants handled the hallucinogen well — there were no serious side effects or worsening symptoms — and also experienced marked boosts in mood, memory and movement that stuck around long after they stopped taking the drug.It’s also a historic first: no psychedelic has been trialed in patients with a degenerative brain disease — until now.“We are still in very early stages of this work, but this first study went well beyond what we expected,” Bradley said.There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s, though drugs like levodopa can help patients manage their symptoms.

The good news is that treatment options are expanding.Tavapadon — a new drug that mimics dopamine by targeting certain receptors — has shown promise in clinical trials by reducing motor fluct...