Over 5 million Americans could benefit if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the “magic mushroom” psychedelic psilocybin as a treatment for depression, researchers estimate.

“While our analysis is a crucial first step, we’ve only scratched the surface in understanding the true public health impact psilocybin therapy may have,” said study co-author Dr. Charles Raison. He’s professor of psychiatry and human ecology at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison.

Shunned for decades as an illicit drug, psilocybin has undergone a kind of rebirth in recent years as studies have suggested that — given in a controlled, supervised manner — it might help ease tough-to-treat depression.

The drug is now under consideration by the FDA as a possible new treatment for depression.

Just how many Americans might stand to benefit?

To find out, Raison and colleagues looked at national data on the prevalence of depression, as well as patient criteria (sourced from recent clinical trials) that might make a person eligible for psilocybin therapy.

The result: In the mid-range of estimates, anywhere from 56% to 62% of Americans currently being treated for depression could be eligible to try psilocybin.

That’s anywhere from 5.1 million to 5.6 million potential patients, according to the researchers.

The number could even grow higher if people currently untreated for their depression decide they would like to try psilocybin, the investigators noted.

“This underscores the importance of understanding the practical realities of rolling out this novel treatment on a large scale,” said study lead author Syed Fayzan Rab, an MD candidate at Emory University’s medical school in Atlanta.

The findings were published Sept 13 in the journal Psychedelics.

His team noted that many of the people who might be eligible for psilocybin therapy could also have substance abuse issues. The treatment is increasingly being viewed as beneficial for this type of patient, according to the study authors.

The exact numbers of people who might turn to psilocybin for help would also depend on conditions set by the FDA regarding who should and should not use the drug.

The extent to which insurance would cover the costs of psilocybin therapy, as well as the availability of people trained to safely administer it, would also come into play.

“Ultimately, the realizable potential of this treatment rests in the hands of regulatory bodies, policymakers, insurers and the healthcare community at large,” Raison said in a journal news release. “It’s our hope that these findings spur productive discussions and proactive preparations to optimize the benefit to patients while minimizing unintended consequences.”

More information

Johns Hopkins Medicine has more about psilocybin.

SOURCE: Genomics Press, news release, Sept 31, 2024

Source: HealthDay

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