Woman with Alzheimer’s starts conversing again after taking psilocybin

A woman with severe Alzheimer’s, who had been communicating in monosyllables for years, began engaging in conversations after receiving a high dose of psilocybin. She also experienced improvements in urinary continence and mobility, previously requiring assistance to move around. This case suggests that psychedelics might have a significant impact on cognition and brain function, although more research is necessary.

“Her facial expressions became much more animated; she made prolonged eye contact, smiled responsively and moved with greater agility,” remarked Marcus Lago from the Ankh Cross Association in São Paulo, Brazil, an organization dedicated to holistic medical practices. “During a later session, she spontaneously said: ‘It feels good to come here.'”

This unnamed 83-year-old woman was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a decade ago and has experienced a considerable decline in function for about half that time.

With her son’s consent, she was administered 5 grams of the Enigma strain of the potent magic mushroom species Psilocybe cubensis orally. Initially, she experienced intense sweating and entered a prolonged sleep-like state. However, 19 hours later, her son noted she initiated a conversation filled with memories and reflections, lasting approximately four hours.

In the following days and weeks, Lago and his team observed her regaining urinary control, dressing herself, and engaging in spontaneous conversations. Building on the success of her initial experience, she received another 3 grams of psilocybin about a month later, which led her to describe surfing with her son on a serene island.

“She selected and put on coordinated clothing independently, went to the television room expecting breakfast, recognized contextual details such as a rented car, noticed when someone was unexpectedly absent and repeatedly remained continent for periods in which incontinence had previously been routine,” Lago commented.

Researchers emphasized that her Alzheimer’s hasn’t been reversed, but suggest that psychedelics might access some remaining functional capacity. It’s known that psilocybin activates serotonin receptors in the brain, potentially enhancing plasticity and altering network communications.

David Nutt of Imperial College London has heard similar reports of psychedelics benefiting brain function in those with neurodegenerative decline. “These accounts don’t prove psychedelics promote longevity and maintain good brain function but are consistent with [their] known anti-inflammatory activity,” he noted.

While the exact cause of Alzheimer’s remains uncertain, the prevailing theory, the amyloid hypothesis, proposes that amyloid-beta protein clumping between brain cells triggers abnormal tau protein formation inside cells, leading to tangles. This results in neuroinflammation, disrupted neural connections, and cell death. “Some brain dysfunctions can be due to one brain circuit suppressing another and psychedelics can disrupt such effects,” Nutt explained.

However, the long-term effects of psilocybin remain unclear. “I have a litany of concerns about the validity of the report and the ethics overall,” stated Albert Garcia-Romeu from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, who is part of a study on psilocybin’s effects on depression in individuals with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s. “The paper only described the month after the first session and does not specify any longer follow-up duration, or how long or whether improvements persisted.”

Garcia-Romeu also pointed out that this is a single case report, which cannot be generalized to all Alzheimer’s patients. Furthermore, her diagnosis was based on symptom assessment rather than more reliable methods like biomarker testing or neuroimaging.

Despite these concerns, some researchers are intrigued enough to advocate for further investigation into psilocybin’s potential. “This is a pretty dramatic case study and while we have to be careful to not make too many conclusions based on one anecdotal event, the findings do suggest a trial may be warranted,” said Rudolph Tanzi at Harvard University.