CNS drugs

Psilocybin’s potential benefits and risks for bipolar depression

Updated

Abstract

Approximately 40 million individuals worldwide are affected by bipolar disorder, with depression being the most prominent phase.

  • Bipolar depression is associated with significant functional impairment and increased suicide risk.
  • Current treatments often lack rapid effectiveness, indicating a need for new therapeutic approaches.
  • Psilocybin is being investigated for its potential rapid antidepressant effects in combination with psychotherapy.
  • Early studies in bipolar II disorder (n = 19) have shown encouraging results, but evidence remains limited.
  • Safety concerns include affective switching and possible interactions with existing bipolar medications.

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Full Text

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Funding

Competing interests

Declarations. Conflicts of Interest: BS has received research grant support from Mayo Clinic, the National Network of Depression Centers, Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD2), and the NIH. He is a KL2 Mentored Career Development Program scholar, supported by Clinical and Translational Science Award grant number KL2 TR002379 from the NCATS. He has received honoraria (to the Mayo Clinic) from Elsevier for editing a clinical overview on treatment-resistant depression. MGM and LP have no competing interests to disclose. The 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. Funding sources had no role in the production of this manuscript. Ethics Approval: Not applicable. Consent to Participate: Not applicable. Consent to Publish: Not applicable. Availability of Data and Material: Not applicable. Code Availability: Not applicable. Author’s Contributions: All authors contributed to the concept and design, drafting of the manuscript, critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. The authors agree to be accountable for the work.
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