Uso de psicodélicos com fins terapêuticos: considerações bioéticas / Use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes: bioethical considerations

Resumo O artigo apresenta os resultados obtidos em uma pesquisa bibliográfica que objetivou compreender aspectos bioéticos envolvidos no uso de psicodélicos com fins terapêuticos presentes nas publicações nacionais e internacionais acerca do tema. Pelo Portal Periódicos CAPES, a partir de critérios de inclusão/exclusão, foram selecionados 28 artigos, que foram analisados tomando como base premissas de escolas de bioética latino-americanas. Os resultados foram apresentados em três eixos de discussão, organizados a partir dos temas e princípios bioéticos: liberdade de investigação científica, que discute os entraves e suas implicações para a ciência psicodélica; consentimento, autonomia e respeito à vulnerabilidade, que discute segurança; e igualdade, justiça e equidade, que discute o acesso. Constata-se que questões bioéticas precisam ser levadas em conta de modo central, para que o uso de psicodélicos com fins terapêuticos seja acessível, produza benefícios e proteja potenciais pacientes e demais pessoas de eventuais danos.

Abstract The article presents the results obtained in a bibliographical research that aimed to understand bioethical aspects involved in the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes in national and international publications on the topic. Through the CAPES Periodicals Portal, based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, 28 articles were selected and analyzed based on premises from Latin American bioethics schools. The results were presented in three axes of discussion, organized in themes and bioethical principles: freedom of scientific investigation, which discusses the obstacles and their implications for psychedelic science; consent, autonomy and respect for vulnerability, which discusses security; and equality, justice and equity, which discusses access. It appears that bioethical issues need to be taken into account in a central way, so that the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes is accessible, produces benefits and protects potential patients and other individuals from possible harm.Resumo: O artigo apresenta os resultados obtidos em uma pesquisa bibliográfica que objetivou compreender aspectos bioéticos envolvidos no uso de psicodélicos com fins terapêuticos presentes nas publicações nacionais e internacionais acerca do tema. Pelo Portal Periódicos CAPES, a partir de critérios de inclusão/exclusão, foram selecionados 28 artigos, que foram analisados tomando como base premissas de escolas de bioética latino-americanas. Os resultados foram apresentados em três eixos de discussão, organizados a partir dos temas e princípios bioéticos: liberdade de investigação científica, que discute os entraves e suas implicações para a ciência psicodélica; consentimento, autonomia e respeito à vulnerabilidade, que discute segurança; e igualdade, justiça e equidade, que discute o acesso. Constata-se que questões bioéticas precisam ser levadas em conta de modo central, para que o uso de psicodélicos com fins terapêuticos seja acessível, produza benefícios e proteja potenciais pacientes e demais pessoas de eventuais danos.

Virtual Reality and Psychedelics for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disease: A Systematic Literature Review.

OBJECTIVE: Hallucinogenic substances or psychedelic drugs have been historically used by humans worldwide for centuries, and interest grows around them because of the therapeutic potential that they pose for mental disease. Virtual Reality (VR), has been highly developed and improved in the last decade, and it is also gaining importance due to their potential as therapeutic tools. In this article, the most recent and relevant information regarding the medical applications of both VR and psychedelics was highlighted, and diverse potential therapeutic uses were explored in hope to set the ground for further research on this topic. METHOD: A systematic literature review using the PRISMA methods was conducted in PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus and Web of Science, including only peer-reviewed clinical trials or case studies written in English, that address the use of psychedelics and/or VR for the treatment of psychiatric disorders and that measure the success of the therapies. A final selection of 23 manuscripts were used in this systematic review. RESULTS: VR showed security and significant efficacy in the management of special cases of phobias (social, motion pain and spiders), eating disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), gambling disorder, preoperative anxiety and schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: The hallucinogenic drugs evaluated exhibited positive effects in treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders, alcohol dependence and PTSD. More research is needed in order to test the effectiveness of these therapies (alone or together) in different mental illnesses and different populations.

Subjective time under altered states of consciousness in ayahuasca users in shamanistic rituals involving music

Ayahuasca is described as a hallucinogenic substance whose property is to alter the subjective experience of time and impair the perception of the passage of time during stimuli of more than two to three seconds. The dose-dependent effects of two concentrations of ayahuasca in the ritualistic context were investigated employing temporal reproduction tasks in participants experienced in shamanistic ayahuasca rituals. The study was conducted on nine healthy volunteers who ingested two doses of ayahuasca at two times during a ritual session. The doses of each session, consumed in amounts ranging from 20 to 60 mL, were either of low concentration or of experimental ayahuasca according to a double-blind procedure. Participants performed the task of immediately listening and reproducing, with a laptop, 20-s musical stimuli during the session. The results showed that significant temporal distortion was triggered by the musical stimulus presented without the ingestion of ayahuasca, with means of 16.33 to 16.52 s. There were minor temporal distortions after ingestion of ayahuasca: a mean of 17.91 s for control ayahuasca and of 18.38 s for experimental ayahuasca. These results with less temporal distortion among participants with ayahuasca intake disagree with other studies of hallucinogens involving temporal reproduction.

Chemical evidence for the use of multiple psychotropic plants in a 1,000-year-old ritual bundle from South America.

Over several millennia, various native plant species in South America have been used for their healing and psychoactive properties. Chemical analysis of archaeological artifacts provides an opportunity to study the use of psychoactive plants in the past and to better understand ancient botanical knowledge systems. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to analyze organic residues from a ritual bundle, radiocarbon dated to approximately 1,000 C.E., recovered from archaeological excavations in a rock shelter located in the Lípez Altiplano of southwestern Bolivia. The site is located at an elevation of ∼3,900 m above sea level and contains evidence of intermittent human occupations during the last 4,000 years. Chemical traces of bufotenine, dimethyltryptamine, harmine, and cocaine, including its degradation product benzoylecgonine, were identified, suggesting that at least three plants containing these compounds were part of the shamanic paraphernalia dating back 1,000 years ago, the largest number of compounds recovered from a single artifact from this area of the world, to date. This is also a documented case of a ritual bundle containing both harmine and dimethyltryptamine, the two primary ingredients of ayahuasca. The presence of multiple plants that come from disparate and distant ecological areas in South America suggests that hallucinogenic plants moved across significant distances and that an intricate botanical knowledge was intrinsic to pre-Columbian ritual practices.

Ibogaine and Subjective Experience: Transformative States and Psychopharmacotherapy in the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder.

This article examines the therapeutic potential of ibogaine, a powerful oneiric alkaloid derived from Tabernanthe iboga, through exploring the subjective experiences of 44 participants from two observational treatment studies for opioid use disorder. Following treatment with ibogaine HCl, the participants (Mexico, n = 30; New Zealand, n = 14) completed the States of Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) to quantify the magnitude of their psychotropic experience. Participants were asked to provide written transcripts of their experiences, with those supplied being analyzed thematically through an iterative process, to produce a set of coded themes. Mean SCQ scores in many domains exceeded 0.6, the cutoff score for a "complete mystical experience," with 43% of participants achieving this in more than five of seven domains. Qualitative data described multiple phenomenological themes, including auditory and visual phenomena. Ibogaine's strong oneiric action promoted cyclic visions leading to confronting realizations involving remorse and regret for participants' actions towards others, but also release from feelings of guilt and worthlessness. Many participants reported feeling a sense of spiritual transformation. We propose that the reported experiences support the meaningfulness of ibogaine's oneiric effects as a discrete element in its capacity for healing, which is distinct from pharmacological actions associated with reduced withdrawal and craving.

Dark Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Mescaline.

Archeological studies in the United States, Mexico, and Peru suggest that mescaline, as a cactus constituent, has been used for more than 6000 years. Although it is a widespread cactus alkaloid, it is present in high concentrations in few species, notably the North American peyote ( Lophophora williamsii) and the South American wachuma ( Trichocereus pachanoi, T. peruvianus, and T. bridgesii). Spanish 16th century chroniclers considered these cacti "diabolic", leading to their prohibition, but their use persisted to our days and has been spreading for the last 150 years. In the late 1800s, peyote attracted scientific attention; mescaline was isolated, and its role in the psychedelic effects of peyote tops or "mescal buttons" was demonstrated. Its structure was established by synthesis in 1929, and alternative routes were developed, providing larger amounts for pharmacological and biosynthetic research. Although its effects are attributed mainly to its action as a 5-HT2A serotonin receptor agonist, mescaline binds in a similar concentration range to 5-HT1A and α2A receptors. It is largely excreted unchanged in human urine, and its metabolic products are apparently unrelated to its psychedelic properties. Its low potency is probably responsible for its relative neglect by recreational substance users, as the successful search for structure-activity relationships in the hallucinogen field focused largely on finding more potent analogues. Renewed interest in the possible therapeutic applications of psychedelic drugs may hopefully lead to novel insights regarding the commonalities and differences between the actions of individual classic hallucinogens.

Factores psicosociales asociados al consumo de sustancias en estudiantes de una universidad pública / Public university students' psychosocial factors associated with legal and illegal substance consumption

Objetivo Determinar prevalencia y factores psicosociales asociados al consumo de sustancias legales e ilegales en estudiantes de una universidad pública. Método Estudio de tipo transversal realizado con 1359 estudiantes, seleccionados aleatoriamente. El instrumento de recolección incluyó el VESPA, CAGE, y las escalas de WHO, Rosemberg, Francis y APGAR. Se realizó análisis univariado y bivariado a través de razones de disparidad, con intervalos de confianza del 95 por ciento y error del 5 por ciento; análisis multivariado por medio de regresión logística, utilizando el programa Statistical Package Socials Sciencies (SPSS). Resultados Se encontró asociación entre el consumo abusivo de alcohol con el consumo de cigarrillos (OR=4,6), marihuana (OR=4,6) y cocaína (OR=2,2). El tener familias disfuncionales se asoció con el consumo de cigarrillo (OR=1,2), cocaína (OR=1,95) y consumo abusivo de alcohol (OR=1,94). Conclusiones El consumo abusivo de alcohol y la disfuncionalidad familiar son factores influyentes para el consumo de sustancias psicoactivas, en estudiantes universitarios.

Objective Determining the prevalence and psychosocial factors associated with public university students' legal and illegal substance consumption. Method This was across-sectional study of 1,359 randomly selected students. The harvesting instrument included the CAGE questionnaire and VESPA,WHO, Rosenberg, Francis and APGAR scales. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for univariate and bivariate analysis using disparity ratios (95 percent confidence intervals and 5 percent error) whilst logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. Results An association was found between abusive alcohol consumption and smoking cigarettes (OR=4.6), marijuana (OR=4.6) and using cocaine (OR=2.2); having a dysfunctional family was associated with smoking cigarettes (OR=1.2), using cocaine (OR=1.95) and abusive alcohol consumption (OR=1.94). Conclusions Abusive alcohol consumption and having a dysfunctional family were influential factors regarding psychoactive substance consumption in public university students.