UCSD study suggests psilocybin could treat phantom limb pain

Axios San Diego reports: “Psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in "magic mushrooms," could be an effective treatment for phantom limb pain, based on the results of a clinical trial by UCSD researchers. Why it matters: Phantom limb pain affects an estimated 60%-80% of all amputees, according to the National Institutes of Health, has no reliable cure and researchers do not fully understand why it even exists. State of play: Fadel Zeidan, co-founder and neuroscience director at the Center for Psychedelic Research at UCSD, in 2023 conducted the first randomized controlled trial on the effect of psychedelics on chronic pain. Half of the patients took a dose equivalent to 4 or 5 grams of dried mushrooms, while the placebo group took 100 grams of niacin. Both underwent three days of preparation with psychologists trained in psychedelic therapy. Following the roughly six-hour psychedelic experience, they underwent a month of ongoing therapy as part of the treatment. Driving the news: "We just got the results and they're absolutely mind bending, no pun intended," Zeidan told Axios. Patients who took psilocybin reported dramatic reductions in the severity of their pain — between 50% and 75% — and the effect of that reduction got stronger the further away they got from the dose. The group that took niacin reported a brief reduction immediately after the dose, but their reported pain returned to the previous level two weeks and four weeks after the dose. Between the lines: Zeidan and fellow researchers theorize that phantom pain is tied to unresolved trauma from the accident that led to the amputation, and the amputation itself. The body continues sending pain signals to the brain, indicating that something is wrong and help is needed. "What we think is happening is, the large dose is resetting this system," he said. "It's like an Etch-a-Sketch, which can potentially lead to the eradication of the pain. The intrigue: That system reset, Zeidan said, is analogous to an "aha moment" in psychology, an insight that shifts a person's thinking and leads to relief from depression or anxiety.”

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