Previous research indicates that psilocybin, a drug that changes activity in brain areas believed to be involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), might improve treatment for, and improve lives of, people diagnosed with OCD. The investigators propose to study 20 patients with symptomatic OCD who are not taking mind altering medications or street drugs, to participate in a 12 week study. Participants will be assigned (by luck of the draw) to take low or high dose psilocybin in four dosing sessions separated by 3 weeks. Measurements for the severity of OCD, ability to function, perception of quality of life, safety and tolerability will be measured at baseline prior to drug administration, during the dosing periods, and at the end of study. Other measurements will include brain imaging via fMRI and brain tracing via electroencephalogram (EEG). The investigators believe that during medically supervised dosing sessions, both doses of psilocybin will be safe and well tolerated, and will reduce OCD symptoms. Because psilocybin is a potent drug and especially at the higher dose may induce altered states of consciousness, a thoughtfully implemented procedure for participant safety is in place. Information will be obtained to explore the effects of altered states of consciousness in the outcome of treatment and to find the mechanism of benefit.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects millions of Americans at some point during their lifetime, representing a great deal of individual suffering, social, and fiscal cost. Despite this, currently available medications fail to help as many as 40% of OCD patients, and those who respond to treatment often experience troublesome residual symptoms 4. Psilocybin holds promise as a novel approach in the treatment of OCD, supported by preliminary evidence that it achieves response and remission rates exceeding conventional interventions . The broad long-term objectives of this research are to improve our available treatment options for OCD and advance the specific knowledge of neural mechanism explaining treatment response. Building on the investigative team's decades long work with synthetic psilocybin, data obtained during this proposed early phase clinical study may help improve the life of people affected with OCD and minimize society's burden. The investigators propose a randomized, controlled trial of four sessions of psilocybin assigned to either low dose (10mg) or high dose (30 mg) in double masked fashion to 20 (10 per group) symptomatic and medication-free OCD patients. The study will evaluate the tolerability, safety, subjective experience, and efficacy of psilocybin for improving OCD, obtain the preliminary data needed as a pre-requisite to a larger-scale (efficacy or effectiveness) intervention study with dosing informed by this trial, and explore mechanism of anti-obsessional action.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
20
10mg dose of psilocybin
30mg dose of psilocybin
University of Arizona-Tucson
Tucson, Arizona, United States
Safety and tolerability of orally administered psilocybin
Determine the acute safety and tolerability of orally administered psilocybin at low dose (10mg) and high dose (30mg) as measured with the Systematic Assessment for Treatment Emergent Events (SAFTEE) scale.
Time frame: 12 months
Efficacy of oral administered psilocybin in patient with OCD
Determine the efficacy of two different doses (10mg and 30mg) of psilocybin as a treatment for OCD, and explore whether there may be a dose-response relationship. This will be based on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score.
Time frame: 12 months
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