Alzheimer's patient gets back speech, bladder control and memory in drug trial
nypost.com30 points by virgildotcodes 19 hours ago
30 points by virgildotcodes 19 hours ago
Here’s the original manuscript: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/1...
“Administer 5g psilocybin”. This experiment seems really awful to me.
Don’t get me wrong, psychedelics can be great but the idea of giving them to someone with an already severely fractured mental state seems unethical, and the gains they talk about are almost certainly going to be temporary in a way that is going to prolong their suffering.
I understand where you're coming from, but strongly disagree with your conclusions. A patient with severe Alzheimer's effectively has nothing to lose, and the same goes for the patient's loved ones. Moreover, I'd argue the risks involved are minor/short-lived, while the gains are potentially priceless, even if temporary.
First of all 5mg is a standard medical dosage for this medicine and isn’t likely to produce horrible experiences that you would get with much larger doses.
Second, you think it’s more ethical to let a patient suffer? Are you against emergency surgeries where a patient is unconscious after a car accident?
The dose in the paper is 5 grams, not mg
> Second, you think it’s more ethical to let a patient suffer? Are you against emergency surgeries where a patient is unconscious after a car accident?
My concern is that this induces more suffering. They are going to gain lucidity and then lose it again. That must be deeply distressing (for the family/relatives too). Can’t imagine that psychedelics help with the state of psychosis/hallucinations that advanced Alzheimer’s patients already experience too
I'm quite suspicious of it. Psilocybin has potential for brains that do not work properly, but Alzheimer destroys the brain
New York Post? Yeah I don't think so...