HALLUCINOGENS DECREASE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
SYMPTOMS

One University of Arizona researcher has found the real magic behind
"magic mushrooms."

Dr. Francisco Moreno, an assistant professor of psychiatry, has
successfully treated the symptoms of nine patients with
obsessive-compulsive disorder using psilocybin, an active ingredient
found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Moreno said he first got the idea to begin research with psychedelic
mushrooms in 1997 after a patient with OCD disclosed that the
hallucinogen had helped subdue the symptoms that accompanied this disease.

To conduct the research, Moreno obtained permits and licenses from
the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Food and Drug Administration.

The researchers found everyone had at least a 25-percent drop in
their symptoms, while some even lost their symptoms entirely.

"What we found is that the majority of subjects were still doing
better in 24 hours," Moreno said. "One subject that we followed was
still doing well at six months."

Although the test has produced excitement among the team, the first
in the country to experiment with psilocybin and its effects on
humans, Moreno said the preliminary study is just the first step of
his research.

While Moreno has no plans to recommend psilocybin as a form of
medical treatment to the FDA, he is awaiting approval and funding
from the Human Studies Committee to perform further tests of both
psilocybin and placebo pills on about 30 subjects.

"We believe it is important to conduct tests repeatedly and compare
those studies with placebo studies," Moreno said.

Dr. Lorrin Koran, a researcher at Stanford University specializing in
OCD, said he is supportive of the studies involving the effects of
psilocybin, although a larger study with placebo subjects will be the
telltale examination.

"Psilocybin is not a practical treatment, has not been definitively
demonstrated to work or to benefit patients over longer term and has
potential for abuse," Koran wrote via e-mail. "But the authors
deserve credit for conducting a difficult study of a very novel
approach that may lead to better understanding of OCD."

OCD is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary movements
that can restrict the enjoyment of daily life and affects nearly
1-in-50 adults in the United States alone, according to the OCD
Foundation Web site.

Even though the results of his study indicate promise, Moreno
discourages self-medication of psychedelic mushrooms, which are both
powerful and outlawed by the DEA since the 1970s. They are classified
as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance, meaning a drug that has a high
potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use and is
unsafe for use, even under medical supervision.

Dr. Michael Jenike, an OCD specialist and psychiatry professor at
Harvard University, said he also believes psychedelic mushrooms could
provide insight into new forms of treatment for OCD.

"This is not ready to change the way we do medicine," Moreno said.
"But it means changes in the ways of thinking creatively and openly
in exploring novel approaches for medical conditions that are
difficult to treat."