Study: Psilocybin relieves OCD symptoms

[rumandromanism]

TUCSON, Ariz. - A preliminary study of the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms has found it is effective in relieving the symptoms of people suffering from severe obsessive compulsive disorder, a University of Arizona psychiatrist reports.

Dr. Francisco A. Moreno led the first FDA-approved clinical study of psilocybin since it was outlawed in 1970. The results of the small-scale study are published in the latest edition of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Moreno said the study's intent was only to test the safety of administering psilocybin to patients, and its effectiveness is still in doubt until a larger controlled study can be conducted.

But in each of the nine patients in the study, psilocybin completely removed symptoms of the disorder for a period of about four to 24 hours, with some remaining symptom-free for days, Moreno said.

"What we saw acutely was a drastic decrease in symptoms," Moreno said. "The obsessions would really dissolve or reduce drastically for a period of time."

Best known among the drug culture as magic mushrooms, the hallucinogenic fungus remains a popular illicit drug. Although banned by Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, research into medical uses is allowed.

The new research does not reflect any change in government policy, said Rogene Waite, a spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Currently, there is no treatment that eases symptoms of the disorder as fast as psilocybin appears to, Moreno said. Other drugs take several weeks to show an effect, but the psilocybin was almost immediate.

The drug is not one that could be taken daily, Moreno said, and many questions remain about its use, including if it would be addictive or if patients would develop a tolerance to the drug.

Moreno hopes to conduct an expanded study that could offer more convincing evidence of its effectiveness.

"We're very cautious about making too much of the early results," Moreno said. "I don't want to characterize it as psychedelics are the way to go. Although it seemed to be safe, this was done in the context of supervision by trained professionals in a medical setting. This is not ready to be used by the public just because nine people tolerated it."

Symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder typically develop in the teen years and can make it difficult hard for patients to lead normal, day-to-day lives.

The nine patients in the study had a range of compulsions, including fear of being contaminated, elaborate cleaning rituals, tapping or touching rituals and mental rituals. One patient wouldn't touch the floor with anything but the soles of his shoes. Others would shower for hours or put on pants over and over again until they felt right.

"They know it's senseless. They know it doesn't do anything for them, but if they don't do it they become very distraught and very uncomfortable and have a very difficult time functioning," Moreno said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061221/...ilocybin_study

[boredjim8]

woohoo shrooms ya

[astro_righteous]

my girlfriend was actually a part of that study. no shit. she was one of the people conducting the study tho not a patient. kinda sucks. she wasnt able to snag a few extra pills of the shit tho. she said that they tested for a few other things too. like they hooked the people up with heart monitors and shit and they all got to do what ever the people wanted and most of the time the person would do something like draw or some dude requested legos and made some wierd shaped object and said it was the inside of his testicle.
no im just kidding but that would be awsome. she doesnt even go to the same school they did that at. but she did show me that article and i was thinking about sticking it here but damn i lucked out on that.

[IGotTheCottons]

Shit... I have some mild OCD... Too bad I don't like mushies though...

[Blaze_It_Up420]

Originally Posted by IGotTheCottons

Shit... I have some mild OCD... Too bad I don't like mushies though...

How can you not like mushies?

[IGotTheCottons]

Originally Posted by Blaze_It_Up420

How can you not like mushies?

Well... When I trip, I like to TRIP... And mushies don't really do that for me... I usually only get a few hours of good hard trippin, then it's time for the never-ending come-down... That time at the end of the trip where you're not seein shit really anymore, but you're still all tweaked out and shit and can't go to sleep... I fuckin hate that...

[Bliz-NATI]

Originally Posted by IGotTheCottons

Well... When I trip, I like to TRIP... And mushies don't really do that for me... I usually only get a few hours of good hard trippin, then it's time for the never-ending come-down... That time at the end of the trip where you're not seein shit really anymore, but you're still all tweaked out and shit and can't go to sleep... I fuckin hate that...

Im also not a very big shroom lover, but i can attest to it helping OCD symptoms. Ive had bad OCD since i can remember. not many people really recognize it at first, but i am very OCD to the point SOMETIMES it makes life a bit difficult.

after doing shrooms, i did realize my OCD tendancies did drastically retreat. even after the bad trip i had.

Not only shrooms, but acid helped as well. maybe there is a relation?

Also, after doing shrooms... i dont get as many headaches as i used too. purely mental maybe... but im thankful for this nontheless