Improving Parkinson’s disease mood dysfunction with psilocybin

Psilocybin-based therapy could help manage mental health issues in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

In a study published in Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers assigned 12 patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease to receive two oral doses of psilocybin (one 10-milligram dose followed by one 25-milligram dose) along with psychotherapy.

The researchers found that the use of psilocybin improved depression and anxiety scores as well as motor and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. They observed increases in cognitive performance, visual learning, spatial working memory and cognitive flexibility. The researchers reported no increase in psychotic symptoms.

Despite the positive results, the researchers cautioned that “rigorous efficacy testing” is necessary to determine whether psilocybin-based therapy could be beneficial in this patient population.

Read more: Neuropsychopharmacology

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