Psychedelic mushrooms are fungi that contain psychedelic substances, such as psilocybin, psilocin, or muscimol. The most common colloquial term for psychedelic mushrooms is magic mushrooms.
According to AP reports, it is the first FDA-approved clinical study of psilocybin since it was outlawed in 1970.
Lead researcher Dr. Francisco A. Moreno finds that the study's intent was only to test the safety of administering psilocybin to patients. However its effectiveness is still in doubt until it is covered on large scale.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder; more specifically, it is an anxiety disorder, which is manifested in a variety of forms, but it is most commonly characterized by a subject's obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or rituals) which attempt to neutralize the obsessions.
The study, which was published in the latest edition of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, researched nine patients and concluded psilocybin completely removed symptoms of the disorder for a period of about four to 24 hours.
It also observed that some OCD patients remained symptom-free for days.
"What we saw acutely was a drastic decrease in symptoms," Moreno said. "The obsessions would really dissolve or reduce drastically for a period of time."
Although magic mushrooms are banned by Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, research into medical uses is allowed.
Moreno also added that currently there is no treatment that eases symptoms of the disorder as fast as psilocybin does. Other prescribed drugs take several weeks to show an effect, but the psilocybin was almost immediate.
