A Psychedelic Compound Found in 'Magic' Mushrooms Might Prevent Debilitating Nerve Damage and Pain Caused by Chemotherapy

While chemotherapy has saved countless lives, it often comes with harmful side effects, including nerve damage in the limbs. This painful condition, called peripheral neuropathy, can cause long-lasting numbness, tingling and movement issues in the hands and feet. But a psychedelic compound found in so-called magic mushrooms might provide protection against the nerve damage, according to a study published in the journal Science on September 3.

The work found that giving mice just two doses of psilocybin shortly before chemotherapy prevented the animals from developing pain hypersensitivity. The outcomes are so promising that the researchers plan to start a mid-stage clinical trial this year. Currently, no effective treatments—preventative or otherwise—exist for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, estimated to affect up to 70 percent of patients.

Anderson Cancer Center, described how the discovery came as a surprise. A researcher in his lab reported that mice that had received psilocybin before chemotherapy showed no signs of nerve damage. Do it again,” he recalled telling her, reports Andrew Jacobs at the New York Times.

So, she repeated the process several times, testing mice with different types of tumors and chemotherapy drugs. The creatures never developed neuropathy. In the new study, the researchers gave mice with abdominal tumors two doses of the compound administered one week apart.

Another group of mice got saline injections. All animals then received six monthly rounds of treatment with cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug that causes nerve damage, among other issues. The team observed changes in the mice’s pain sensitivity using a tool that measures sensitivity to touch.

Mice that received psilocybin before chemotherapy responded similarly to those that received neither chemotherapy nor psilocybin. In contrast, mice that received cisplatin without psilocybin were much more sensitive to the tool’s touch. The psychedelic didn’t affect cisplatin’s ability to shrink tumors.