Study: New Psychedelic Drug Combo Improves PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is fairly common in people who have been in the chaos of combat. Extremely loud explosions and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) leave long-lasting effects after veterans return home.

Psychedelics to treat PTSD are not new. Studies of Ecstasy/MDMA, aka Molly, ketamine, magic mushrooms, and LSD have shown mixed results in relieving symptoms. Except for MDMA, which the FDA granted “breakthrough therapy” status, no other experimental drugs have gotten the FDA’s green light for approval.

A small new study of the drug ibogaine, a plant-based psychoactive compound, combined with magnesium for heart-protection benefits, found that people with PTSD had what they described as mystical experiences during the session and, as a result, had less severe PTSD after a single session. Ibogaine comes from the root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga plant, historically used in spiritual and healing ceremonies among several cultures in Africa.

Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, and other research centers in the U.S. created this clinical trial. The study included 30 male veterans with traumatic brain injury from repeated blast/combat exposures during their military service. The research team followed up with trial participants one month after the session, and many reported that their PTSD symptoms had subsided. The results were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

PTSD symptoms can be debilitating. Flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, depression, headaches, trouble sleeping, and panic attacks can disrupt daily life, according to the Mayo Clinic. Untreated, people with PTSD may withdraw from their families and friends and become suicidal.

Although the trial only included 30 combat veterans, the positive reported outcomes may lead to future research in large-scale clinical trials.