Magic Mushrooms Tested For Treating Type II Bipolar Disorder, Check Out Results So Far

Mental health care company COMPASS Pathways plc CMPS has announced positive data demonstrating the potential of its proprietary synthetic psilocybin compound COMP360 in treating depression within Type II bipolar disorder.

Presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s annual meeting, the early yet positive results correspond to an investigator-initiated, open-label pilot study assessing safety and efficacy of a single 25 mg dose of COMP360 in 14 participants with type II bipolar disorder depression. 

Bipolar disorders are a complex group of severe and chronic conditions, of which Bipolar I disorder (BP-I) and Bipolar II disorder (BP-II) are two of the major forms. Both involve shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and concentration, yet they differ in the intensity of manic episodes and the prevalence of major depressive episodes. 

These kinds of psychiatric conditions affect approximately 40 million people worldwide and are associated with high levels of functional impairment, morbidity, mortality and an increased risk of suicide. They are responsible for the highest suicidality rate of all psychiatric disorders -about 30 times that of the general population.

Run by Dr. Scott Aaronson at Sheppard Pratt Baltimore, the Type II bipolar disorder clinical trial found that 86% -or 12 out of 14- of the participants met response and remission criteria for the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) at 12 weeks after psilocybin administration. 

As for other measures, no increase in the suicidality score based on the MADRS was shown, nor manic symptoms or unexpected adverse events or difficulties with the dosing sessions were reported throughout the study.

Dr. Aaronson said that it is really encouraging to see almost 90% of participants go into remission for three months given this condition’s extreme difficulty in being treated, and that now these findings ought to be validated in larger studies.

The data on the bipolar study has been presented by COMPASS conjointly with a mechanistic analysis of the company’s Phase IIb trial of COMP360 in patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD.)

COMPASS chief medical officer Dr. Guy Goodwin said both studies “provide further evidence to support COMP360 psilocybin therapy’s potential for difficult-to-treat depression.” 

Dr. Goodwin explained how psilocybin works by first binding to serotonin 2a receptors in the brain, and then allowing different brain regions to connect and communicate more easily and flexibly, producing a “profound psychedelic experience” which is driven by drug dose and correlates with the effect on depressive symptoms. 

According to the company, connections underlying unhealthy brain states such as TRD may reconnect in a healthier way after the drug effects have worn off.

What psychological support in these studies focuses on is safety, “which facilitates the psychedelic experience, but does not directly drive the effect on depression: it is not a psychotherapy,” COMPASS lead medical officer said. 

Dr. David Feifel, PI in the COMPASS Phase 2b study at Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute, La Jolla, California, concluded: “The positive results published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the efficacy of COMP360 psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression, and now these new findings are providing insights on how that antidepressant effect may be produced. This new analysis suggests that positive psychedelic experiences facilitate emotional breakthrough which may change thought patterns in people with depression.”

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash