Evidence from early-stage trials shows that psychedelic drugs may help treat chronic pain as they reduce symptoms of conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic Lyme disease. While these early results are encouraging, research on these substances as pain remedies is still in its infancy and many have not been rigorously tested in large-scale clinical trials. So, do these findings offer a promise of transformative treatments to come, or can they be chalked up to the placebo effect?
Interest in psychedelics has grown in recent years as research suggests they can alleviate depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions, many of which are also thought to chronic pain. As such, a growing group of researchers has begun investigating their potential as pain remedies.
For example, at Imperial College London presented preliminary evidence at a psychedelic conference in Denver, Colorado, on 23 June showing that psilocybin 鈥� the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms 鈥� can ease symptoms of fibromyalgia, a chronic illness characterised by widespread body pain.
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鈥淧atients feel almost as though they are in an existential battle with their pain,鈥� said , also at Imperial College London and part of the research team, during the conference. 鈥淥ur hope is that psychedelics will help people let go of some of the battle.鈥� Bornemann and her colleagues gave at least one dose of psilocybin to 11 people with the condition, all of whom had failed to respond to other treatments. After eight weeks, the participants reported that their pain decreased by about 40 per cent, on average.
It is crucial to note that this was a preliminary trial, meaning its primary goal was to validate the safety of these drugs in people with fibromyalgia. No control group was included, making it impossible to rule out the placebo effect 鈥� perhaps simply knowing they received a potential new pain treatment made participants feel less pain.
Psilocybin may be beneficial for people with other chronic illnesses too. For instance, at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland presented preliminary data at the conference showing the drug improved pain in 10 people with chronic Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is a tick-borne bacterial infection usually cured by antibiotics. However, some people continue to experience chronic symptoms months after treatment, including pain, fatigue and brain fog.
Garcia-Romeu and his colleagues gave the participants two doses of psilocybin over the course of six weeks and assessed their pain throughout the trial using a questionnaire. Two weeks after participants鈥� last psychedelic session, their self-reported pain scores were about 60 per cent lower, on average, than those before the trial.
He says the greatest improvements were in pain, fatigue and neuropsychiatric symptoms like anxiety and depression.
But, like the fibromyalgia study, this one also lacked a control group. It is important to remember that all this data is preliminary and far from conclusive. Both research groups hope to recruit a total of 20 participants before publishing their findings.
Still, these studies join a handful of others that indicate psychedelics ease pain. Small trials have found that these compounds can , reduce and even alleviate .
These drugs have also been shown to reduce inflammation, which could explain why people feel less pain after a psychedelic experience. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a potential working hypothesis, though it doesn鈥檛 exactly make sense why that would have long-lasting effects,鈥� says Garcia-Romeu.
Another explanation could relate to how psychedelic drugs influence the brain鈥檚 ability to change its structure and function. 鈥淗ow we understand our suffering is created in the brain and the central nervous system,鈥� says Bornemann. 鈥淧sychedelics may reorganise that in a meaningful way.鈥�
As part of their trial, Bornemann and her team are collecting brain scans from participants before and after their psychedelic experience. The hope is that doing so will offer clues about the drug鈥檚 mechanism of action.
Even if researchers find conclusive evidence psychedelics treat chronic pain, it is unclear how long the effect may last without larger studies. It may be that some people will only need the treatment once whereas others must take psilocybin on a yearly basis, says Bornemann.
