A new case report described temporary improvements in an advanced Alzheimer’s patient after psilocybin mushrooms, but experts urged caution.
An elderly woman with advanced Alzheimer’s disease showed notable short-term improvements in speech, memory, mobility and daily function after taking psilocybin-containing mushrooms, according to a recently published case report in Frontiers in Neuroscience.
The report focused on a Japanese American woman who had lived with Alzheimer’s disease for about a decade and had experienced severe decline for roughly five years. Brazilian study authors described her as having advanced dementia, very limited speech and communication, severe cognitive impairment, urinary incontinence, reduced mobility and dependence on caregivers for daily activities.
The case is drawing attention because the changes described by the authors were unusually dramatic for a patient with late-stage dementia. But the evidence is also highly limited: It involved one patient, lacked a control group and did not establish that psilocybin caused the improvements.
The woman received two oral doses of psilocybin-containing mushrooms: 5 grams in the first session and 3 grams about a month later. After the first dose, she experienced profuse sweating, hyperthermia and a prolonged sleep-like state, the researchers reported.
About 19 hours later, the patient “spontaneously initiated autobiographical conversation lasting several hours,” the authors wrote. In the following days and weeks, they reported restored urinary continence, independent walking and dressing, spontaneous conversation, contextual memory retrieval, emotional expression, eye contact and smiling.
After the second session, the authors reported further gains, including stronger speech, more facial expression and humor, better walking agility and continued continence. The reported benefits lasted at least one month, but the paper did not include longer-term follow-up.
The authors said the findings should be interpreted cautiously. The case did not include standardized cognitive testing, brain imaging biomarkers, electrophysiological monitoring or sleep studies. The patient’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis was not confirmed with modern biomarkers, and the paper said other neurodegenerative conditions could not be completely excluded. Natural fluctuations in her condition also could not be ruled out.
Courtney Kloske, director of scientific engagement at the Alzheimer’s Association, told Fox News Digital that “much more research is needed in larger, more representative study populations before any conclusions can be drawn about psilocybin’s safety and effectiveness in people living with Alzheimer’s or any other disease that causes dementia.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News senior medical analyst who was not involved in the study, said he was “dubious” about the significance of the report because it was temporary and limited to one patient. He also warned that giving a hallucinogen to someone with severe mental impairment can carry unpredictable behavioral risks, though he said psilocybin might have value in a carefully controlled setting.
There are no FDA-approved psilocybin treatments for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Psilocybin remains federally illegal in the United States as a Schedule I substance, though Oregon, Colorado and New Mexico have expanded state-regulated access in recent years.
Comments (0)