Here's something you probably never thought of as a potential medication: magic mushrooms. That's right — a study just found that the drug could help people suffering from depression.
Eight people with depression who were unresponsive to at least two other treatments took psilocybin, the chemical in shrooms that causes hallucinations. Most felt better almost immediately, and five of them were still better three months afterward. That's not a bad track record. Study author David Nutt told the BCC that the drug might act like a "lubricant for the mind," freeing patients from negative thoughts.
Before we take this study too seriously, it should be noted that it only involved only eight people and no placebo group. Still, this isn't the first time psychedelic mushrooms have been enlisted to treat mental illness. They've already been shown to reduce anxiety in dying cancer patients, and they target chemicals in the brain that are involved in depression and anxiety.
However, the government lists shrooms as Schedule I drugs, which are tightly regulated. So it's unlikely we'll be seeing them on pharmacy shelves any time soon.
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