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CompletedPhase 1

Effects of Psilocybin in Anorexia Nervosa

NCT04052568 · Johns Hopkins University

Closed to entry
Status
Not accepting participants
Phase 1
Phase
22
Target enrolment
1
Study sites
1 US states

What it is testing

Summary

This open-label pilot study seeks to investigate the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in persons with chronic anorexia nervosa (AN). Psilocybin has previously been demonstrated to decrease depression and anxiety and increase long-term positive behavior change in other populations. The investigators seek to determine whether similar changes can be safely produced in people with AN when psilocybin is administered in a supportive setting with close follow-up. The investigators' primary hypotheses are that psilocybin is safe to administer in people with AN, that it will reduce measures of anxiety and depression, and that it will lead to increased quality of life. The investigators will also assess a number of exploratory measures related to eating disorder pathophysiology.

Summary as written by the trial’s own sponsor and published on ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. It is the sponsor’s description, reproduced unedited, not an assessment by this site.

What counts as success

Primary outcome measures

  • Change in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) Score

    Measured over 1 week post final psilocybin session

  • Change in health related quality of life as assessed by the Eating Disorder Quality of Life Scale (EDQLS)

    Measured over 2 months post final psilocybin session

A trial succeeds or fails on its primary outcome, declared in advance. Everything else it reports is secondary by definition.

Who can take part

Eligibility, as published

18 Years to 65 Years
Ages
All
Sex
Not accepted
Healthy volunteers
General Inclusion Criteria: * Currently meet criteria for AN restricting subtype by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edition (DSM-5) criteria, and have a history of AN for at least 3 years prior to screening * Have at least one prior attempt at treatment * Be otherwise medically stable as determined by screening for medical problems via a personal interview, a medical questionnaire, a physical examination, an electrocardiogram (ECG), and routine medical blood and urinalysis laboratory tests (complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, urine pregnancy test, urine toxicology screen). * Agree to refrain from using any psychoactive drugs, including alcoholic beverages and nicotine, within 24 hours of each drug administration. The exception is caffeine. General Exclusion Criteria: * Women who are pregnant (as indicated by a positive urine pregnancy test assessed at intake and before each drug session) or nursing; women who are of childbearing potential and sexually active who are not practicing an effective means of birth control. * Cardiovascular conditions: coronary artery disease, stroke, angina, uncontrolled hypertension, a clinically significant ECG abnormality, heart valve, or transient ischemic attack in the past year. Resting heart rate may be no less than 50 beats per minute unless cleared by a cardiologist. * Epilepsy with history of seizures * Type 1 diabetes * First degree relative with schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders (except substance/medication-induced or due to another medical condition), or Bipolar I Disorder * Has a psychiatric condition judged to be incompatible with establishment of rapport or safe exposure to psilocybin

Where

1 study site

FacilityCityRegionCountry
Behavioral Pharmacology Research UnitBaltimoreMarylandUnited States

On the registry

Contact the trial directly

This site does not enrol anyone and is not involved in this trial. To ask about taking part, use the sponsor’s own contact details on the official registry record, which is also where the most current version of everything above lives.

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NCT04052568 on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Last updated in the registry 2023-05-06. Registry records change; this page reflects the data build of 2026-08-25.

Related

Where this trial sits