A hallucinogenic mushroom offers hope against treatment-resistant depression.

It provides for the use of the psilocybin, a psychedelic substance with potential effects antidepressant contained in some species of mushrooms, the unprecedented trial to treat depression that does not respond to medications. The study, authorized by the Agency Italian Drug Administration, will be conducted in the Psychiatric Clinic of the hospital of Chieti, directed by Giovanni Martinotti, with the contribution from the Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Computer Science clinics of the 'D'Annunzio' University and in collaboration with the ASL Roma 5 and the University Hospital Trust "Ospedali "Reunited" of Foggia. The exceptional interest linked to this experiment lies in the hallucinogenic effects produced by psilocybin: once taken it is transformed in the body into psilocin, which acts on serotonin receptors, modulating the activity of brain networks involved in mood, perception and in thought. In recent years several clinical studies, conducted in United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Australia, have highlighted that one or two administrations of psilocybin can produce rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects, with significant clinical improvements persisting for up to six months in patients with treatment-resistant depression traditional. The study, financed with PNRR funds and coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità under the supervision of Francesca Zoratto, will have a duration of 24 months and includes the enrollment of 68 patients with resistant depression who They will be treated with psilocybin. The effects will be evaluated. with advanced neuroimaging and neurophysiology techniques, methodologies that allow obtaining detailed images of the brain, with the aim of identifying brain biomarkers and define new strategies for precision psychiatry. "We are facing a paradigm shift both scientifically that cultural - underlines Giovanni Martinotti, professor Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Chieti - who allows you to learn more about the antidepressant potential of psilocybin and its modes of action. It's a great opportunity for Italian research and to improve treatments for mental health. This knowledge could make employment of the new molecules even safer, more acceptable and accessible for clinical application." "For the first time we will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the psilocybin in a strictly controlled context and clinically supervised - highlights Francesca Zoratto, scientific director of the project - but also to explore it innovative forms such as the non-psychedelic one, which can eliminate the hallucinogenic effects while maintaining the potential therapeutic".