Just 3 doses of magic mushrooms may treat anorexia: study

It’s a trip doctors hope leads to a breakthrough.A small new study suggests that magic mushrooms may one day offer a new treatment for anorexia nervosa, a serious eating disorder marked by severe food restriction, an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image.That could be a major breakthrough, as anorexia is considered one of the deadliest and hardest mental illnesses to treat.In the study, researchers at the Center for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London set out to see whether psilocybin — the mind-altering compound in magic mushrooms — could help people with long-term anorexia break free from the disorder’s grip.They recruited 21 women who’d lived with the illness for an average of 11 years and hadn’t found lasting relief from previous treatments.The participants were 32 years old on average and had an average body mass index (BMI) of 16.4.

For adults, a healthy BMI typically falls between 18.5 and 24.9.Over six weeks, the women received three oral doses of psilocybin in a carefully controlled therapeutic setting.Each participant got one “assumed inactive” dose of psilocybin (1 mg, as a “placebo”), followed by two “high doses” (25 mg), with two weeks between each session.The first dose was meant to be small enough that it would not cause a psychedelic trip.Still, some participants reported feeling its impact.The researchers followed up with participants after their final session — checking in again at two weeks, three months, six months and one year — to see whether the treatment’s benefits lasted.They tracked changes in their eating disorder symptoms and motivation to recover, while also monitoring the participants’ BMI during the first six weeks.By the end of the study, the team found that their average eating disorder symptom scores were lower at every follow-up point.

Nearly all of the participants showed improvements two weeks after their final psilocybin session.Three months later, 48% of particip...