Can we compile a good list with citations of which psychoactive drug is useful for the treatment of which mental illnesses?
!!!READ BEFORE DRAWING CONCLUSIONS!!!
THESE TREATMENTS AND THERAPIES ARE !!NOT!! WITHOUT RISK. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SELF-MEDICATE IN ANYWAY!! ADVERSE EFFECTS MAY AND WILL OCCURE WHEN NOT UNDER THE SURVEILLANCE OF A TRAINED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL!!
DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE. THESE THERAPIES ARE COMBINED WITH COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY BY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AND EVEN THEN THE CLINICAL RESPONSE RATE IS <100%. WHAT WORKS FOR SOME PEOPLE DOES NOT NECESSARILY WORK FOR YOU. BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN. THESE ARE NOT ALL-CURING MIRACLE DRUGS. IF YOU NEED TREATMENT FOR AN (MENTAL) ILLNESS, CONSULT A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL AND DO NOT START ANY FORM OF THERAPHY ON YOUR OWN ESPECIALLY NOT USING (PSYCHOACTIVE) DRUGS.
FURTHERMORE THESE ARE ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES AND I AM NOT SUGGESTING IN ANYWAY THAT YOU USE THESE FOR THERAPEUTICAL USES, NEITHER FOR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES. IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE A SUBSTANCE, RESEARCH AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AND LISTEN TO EXPERTS.
THIS LIST HAS BEEN CREATED AS AN EASY TO CITE THREAD FOR RELATED DISCUSSIONS; IT HAS NOT BEEN CREATED TO SUGGEST/HELP/ADVICE ON ANY KIND OF THREATMENT. IF YOU WANT THESE THREATMENTS, CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL, NOT THE INTERNET. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND I HIGHLY ADVICE YOU TO TALK TO PROFESSIONALS INSTEAD OF RELYING ON UNTRAINED INTERNET STRANGERS.
The rules:
- Anecdotal evidence will not be used.
- Using pubmed instead of scholar.google.com is recommended as pubmed is a controllable database.
- Criticizing each other is a good thing but keep it civil
MDMA
- Anxiety disorders
-Emerging treatments for PTSD.
(Systematic review)
-How could MDMA (ecstasy) help anxiety disorders? A neurobiological rationale.
(Neurobiological background)
Ketamine
- Depression & mood disorders
-Evidence-based treatment strategies for treatment-resistant bipolar depression: a systematic review.
(this is a review paper and unfortunately is the n for the ketamine casus "1", making it a single case study; providing only speculation)
(This one is focused on single-treatment cases with lasting effects. It claims that a single dose of ketamine lifts the depression for ~7 days. It mentions psilocybin as well.)
-Rapid response with ketamine on suicidal cognition in resistant depression.
(Study that is focused on treating patients with suicidal tentions; suggests future potential for emergancy/last minute-treatment)
(This one focuses on the biochemical explanation of the anti-depressant effects ketamine provides)
The neurobiology of psychedelic drugs: implications for the treatment of mood disorders.
(Mentions LSD and psilocybin as well)
- Pain
-Ketamine for pain management.
(No abstract for some reason)
-Emerging applications of low-dose ketamine for pain management in the ED.
(Same troubles as above)
-Postamputation pain: studies on mechanisms.
(Ketamine seems to be reducing "phantom pains" (after amputations) as well!)
-Ketamine as an adjuvant to opioids for cancer pain.
(Insufficient results, but not 0%; conclusion is more RCTs are needed)
LSD
- History & politics
-Efficacy and Enlightenment: LSD Psychotherapy and the Drug Amendments of 1962.
(About the stopping of LSD trails during the '60s due to its rising recreational use)
- Alcoholism
-Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for alcoholism: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
(Meta-study on LSD v. alcohol treatment. A dose of LSD is associated with a decrease in alcohol misuse but a significant amount of studies has been poorly executed. Basically, we need more RCTs!)
- Mood & anxiety disorders
The neurobiology of psychedelic drugs: implications for the treatment of mood disorders.
(Mentions ketamine and psilocybin as well)
- Cluster headaches
-Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD.
(Mentions psilocybin as well)
Psilocybin (psilocin)
- Depression & mood disorders
(This one is focused on single-treatment cases with lasting effects. It claims that a single dose of ketamine lifts the depression for ~7 days. It mentions ketamine as well.)
-Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer.
(Title says it all. Conclusion is, again, more RCTs! :D)
(Very interesting RCT by Matthew W. Johnson, who also presented this very study at the ICPR 2012 in Amsterdam. (Great guy, by the way.)
Results: In participants who had mystical experiences during their psilocybin session, Openness remained significantly higher than baseline more than 1 year after the session. The findings suggest a specific role for psilocybin and mystical-type experiences in adult personality change.)
- Cluster headaches
-Chronic cluster headache: Response to psilocybin
(No abstract available unfortunately.)
-Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD.
(Mentions LSD as well. Another semi-related research: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22129843)
Ibogaine
- Addiction
("Ibogaine triggers remodeling of the housekeeping metabolism. Under the initial energy cost it results in increased efficacy of physiological antioxidative systems, which reduce oxidative damage and lowers basal metabolic needs. Together with induced catabolic enzymes they set a new metabolic equilibrium that saves energy and makes it easily available in case of extra needs. While healthy organism profits from improved fitness and mental performance and can withstand higher stress without risking a disease, due to the same principle ibogaine provides beneficial support at the recovery after diseases including addiction syndrome." -- This means that ibogaine kind of "resets" the addicted brain and (partially) kicks it back into the state it was before the addiction occured.)
-Serotonergic hallucinogens and emerging targets for addiction pharmacotherapies
-The need for ibogaine in drug and alcohol addiction treatment
Posted Dec 2, 2012, 7:46 PM UTC · edited