These Patients Couldn’t Beat Lyme Disease, So Scientists Tried Giving Them Psilocybin
The effects lasted for six months.
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Lyme disease affects nearly half a million Americans annually, transmitted through infected tick bites. While antibiotics treat the initial infection successfully for many patients, a significant portion experiences persistent symptoms including fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and chronic pain that can last for months or years.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research conducted a pilot study with 20 participants who had not recovered from Lyme disease despite antibiotic treatment. The team administered two supervised doses of psilocybin to each participant. Two weeks after the final dose, patients reported a 52 percent improvement in overall symptoms compared to their baseline condition. Notably, these improvements persisted at the six-month follow-up mark, with symptoms remaining 40 to 50 percent below baseline levels.
Beyond symptom reduction, participants showed substantial improvements across multiple health markers. Depression symptoms decreased by 50 to 60 percent, sleep disturbance scores fell by 40 to 50 percent, and pain scores dropped approximately 40 to 50 percent throughout the trial period. However, researchers emphasize that these results are preliminary and require further investigation through randomized, controlled trials before any definitive conclusions can be drawn.
Scientists propose expanding psychedelic research to treat post-treatment Lyme disease and other chronic infection-related conditions, including long COVID and fibromyalgia. The promising preliminary findings suggest psilocybin warrants rigorous investigation as a potential therapeutic avenue for patients who have exhausted conventional treatment options.
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Originally reported by Sciencealert →
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