Frontiers in psychiatry

Safety and effects of inhaled 5-MeO-DMT (GH001) in people with hard-to-treat depression

Updated

Abstract

In a cohort of 16 patients with (TRD), 87.5% in the individualized dosing group achieved remission by day 7.

  • Vaporized GH001 was well tolerated, with no serious adverse effects reported.
  • In the Phase 1 trial, remission rates were 50% for the 12 mg group and 25% for the 18 mg group.
  • All remissions occurred from day 1, with 60% of remissions observed within 2 hours after administration.
  • The mean reduction in depression scores was -21.0 (-65%) for the 12 mg group, -12.5 (-40%) for the 18 mg group, and -24.4 (-76%) for the individualized dosing group.
  • Individualized dosing with GH001 showed a significantly higher remission rate compared to single-dose administration.

Simplified

Key numbers

7 of 8
Proportion in remission
Patients in the individualized dosing regimen (IDR) group at day 7
-24.4
Mean MADRS change
Change from baseline to day 7 for the IDR group
2 of 4
Remission rates in Phase 1
Patients achieving remission in the 12 mg and 18 mg groups at day 7

Full Text

What this is

  • This trial assessed the safety and efficacy of a vaporized formulation of (GH001) in patients with ().
  • The study included two phases: Phase 1 evaluated single doses of GH001, while Phase 2 tested an individualized dosing regimen with multiple doses in a single day.
  • Results indicated that GH001 was well tolerated and showed rapid antidepressant effects, especially with the individualized dosing approach.

Essence

  • GH001, a vaporized formulation of , demonstrated rapid and significant antidepressant effects in patients with , especially using an individualized dosing regimen.

Key takeaways

  • GH001 was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events reported. All patients experienced mild to moderate adverse drug reactions, which resolved spontaneously.
  • In Phase 2, 7 out of 8 patients (87.5%) achieved remission (MADRS ≤ 10) by day 7, compared to 50% and 25% in the Phase 1 single-dose groups.
  • The mean change in MADRS score from baseline to day 7 was -24.4 (-76%) for the individualized dosing regimen, indicating a significant reduction in depressive symptoms.

Caveats

  • The trial had a small sample size of 16 participants, which limits the generalizability of the findings. Further research in larger populations is needed.
  • The study design was open-label, which may introduce bias due to participants being aware of receiving an active treatment.

Definitions

  • 5-MeO-DMT: A serotonergic psychedelic compound that acts as an agonist at 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors, used in this study for its potential antidepressant effects.
  • Treatment-resistant depression (TRD): A form of major depressive disorder that does not respond adequately to standard treatments, affecting approximately 30 to 60% of patients.

Simplified

Funding

Competing interests

JRe and JRa are scientific consultants to GH Research. TT is an employee and shareholder of GH Research. The authors declare that this study received funding from GH Research. The funder had the following involvement in the study: study design, data analysis and preparation of the manuscript. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
PubMed

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