The results from a Phase 1 clinical trial led by the University of California published today in Nature Medicine has found a single dose of the psychedelic substance psilocybin, administered alongside psychological support, is a safe and acceptable treatment for patients with anorexia nervosa and may decrease eating-disorder behaviours in a subset of patients.
Professor Chris Langmead from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences is available for interviews on this topic. Please note, Professor Langmead is not a subject matter expert on anorexia nervosa, however he is an expert on the current evidence pertaining to psilocybin and the role it might play in treating a range of mental health conditions.
Contact: M: +61 (0)417 959083 / E: chris.langmead@monash.edu
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How the findings from the Nature Medicine study could pave the way toward evaluating psilocybin therapy as a new avenue for treatment of anorexia nervosa, and other difficult-to-treat mental health conditions.
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How the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) recent decision to reclassify psilocybin for the treatment of depression in certain patients places Australia at the forefront of research in this field globally - and what needs to be done to seize the opportunity.
The following quotes can be attributed to Professor Chris Langmead:
“Anorexia nervosa affects the lives of approximately one million Australians, yet there is currently a lack of safe and effective medical treatments for patients living with this condition. Mounting evidence has shown psilocybin therapy to be a promising treatment to help manage various mental health conditions for which current treatments are falling short.
“Despite the increased prevalence of difficult-to-treat mental health conditions throughout the community, very few advancements in new safe and effective treatments have emerged over the last 50 years - this simply isn’t good enough. My hope is that the TGA’s decision will pave the way for the development of new safe, effective and widely accessible medicines to significantly improve the lives of those living with mental health conditions.”
