MD Anderson's psilocybin doses stopped chemotherapy nerve damage in mice across six cycles
MD Anderson researchers found that two doses of psilocybin given before chemotherapy protected mice against nerve damage across repeated treatment cycles, with and without tumors present, while the chemotherapy kept its antitumor effect. Co-authors Moran Amit and Patrick Dougherty called the finding unparalleled and said it is the first time psilocybin has been used as a neuroprotective agent. A phase 2 human trial called NeuroGuard is planned but has not reported results.
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Two doses protected mice across repeated chemotherapy cycles
MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers reported in Science on 3 September that as few as two doses of psilocybin given ahead of treatment protected mice against cold hypersensitivity and preserved touch sensation and sensory nerve endings across cisplatin, paclitaxel and docetaxel, while the chemotherapy kept its antitumor effect, Medical Xpress reported. Scientific American reported that the protection held even after six consecutive treatment cycles, with and without tumors present, quoting co-author Moran Amit calling the consistency of the result ‘unparalleled’. None of the findings have been tested in people.[1], [2]
Researchers trace the effect to nerve-fibre energy transport
Medical Xpress reported that the MD Anderson group traced the protective effect to serotonin 5-HT2A receptors and to mitochondrial trafficking along nerve fibres, the route by which energy reaches the nerve endings. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral nerve damage is a common reason patients cut treatment short, so a protective step given before the drug could matter clinically; Moran Amit and Patrick Dougherty led the work, and a phase 2 trial called NeuroGuard, registered as NCT07227909, is planned but has not reported results.[1]
An accidental discovery repeated 'again and again'
Scientific American reported that the discovery began by accident, when one of Amit's colleagues noticed that mice given psilocybin avoided nerve damage after chemotherapy; Amit recalled telling her to repeat the experiment, and said the team went on to test it with tumors, without tumors and across different chemotherapy types without ever seeing neuropathy develop. Co-author Patrick Dougherty told a press conference this is the first time psilocybin has been used as a neuroprotective agent, calling it ‘a brand-new finding’.[2]
