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Active, not recruitingEarly Phase 1

Effects of Psilocybin in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

NCT05546658 · Johns Hopkins University

Closed to entry
Status
Not accepting participants
Early Phase 1
Phase
35
Target enrolment
1
Study sites
1 US states

What it is testing

Summary

This study will test the feasibility, safety, and evidence for efficacy of psilocybin administration in participants with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This will serve as a preliminary proof of concept study for future larger studies aimed to investigate the utility, cognitive mechanisms, and neural correlates of this intervention.

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 The Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score

    Measured over 1 week post session 1, 1 week post session 2

  • State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)

    Measured over 1 month post session 2

  • Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II)

    Measured over 1 month post session 2

  • Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q)

    Measured over 1 month post session 2

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

21 Years to 80 Years
Ages
All
Sex
Not accepted
Healthy volunteers
Inclusion Criteria: * Have given written informed consent * Currently meet criteria for a DSM-5 diagnosis of OCD and report a history of OCD for at least 1 year prior to screening * Have a Y-BOCS score of 18 or more * Have at least one prior attempt at treatment, either ERP or pharmacotherapy * No antidepressant medications for approximately five half-lives prior to acceptance in treatment phase of study * Women who are of childbearing potential and sexually active who are not practicing an effective means of birth control must agree to practice an effective means of birth control throughout the duration of the study * Be judged by study team clinicians to be at low risk for suicidality * Concurrent psychotherapy is allowed if the type and frequency of the therapy has been stable for at least two months prior to screening and is expected to remain stable during participation in the study * 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 (CBC, CMP, urine beta-HCG, urine toxicology screen) * Agree to consume approximately the same amount of caffeine-containing beverage (e.g., coffee, tea) that he/she consumes on a usual morning, before arriving at the research unit on the mornings of drug session days. If the participant does not routinely consume caffeinated beverages, he/she must agree not to do so on session days * Agree to refrain from using any psychoactive drugs, including alcoholic beverages, within 24 hours of each drug administration. The exceptions are caffeine and nicotine * Agree not to take any PRN medications on the mornings of drug sessions * Agree not to take sildenafil (Viagra®), tadalafil, or similar medications within 72 hours of each drug administration * Agree that for one week before each drug session, he/she will refrain from taking any nonprescription medication, nutritional supplement, or herbal supplement except when approved by the study investigators. Exceptions will be evaluated by the study investigators and will include acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and common doses of vitamins and minerals. * Have limited lifetime use of hallucinogens (the following criteria are preferred: no use in the past 5 years; total hallucinogen use less than 10 times) Exclusion Criteria: * Clinically significant transaminitis (AST or ALT greater than two times normal value) * 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 (e.g., atrial fibrillation), prolonged QTc interval (i.e., QTc \> 450 msec), heart valve, or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in the past year * Epilepsy with history of seizures * Type 1 diabetes * BMI \< 18 * Currently taking on a regular (e.g., daily) basis any psychoactive prescription medication or any medications having a primary centrally-acting serotonergic effect, or MAOIs. For individuals who have intermittent or PRN use of such medications, psilocybin sessions will not be conducted until approximately five half-lives of the agent have elapsed after the last dose. * Current (severe) migraine or other recurring severe headaches * Current or past history of meeting DSM-5 criteria for schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders (except substance-/medication-induced or due to another medical condition), or bipolar I disorder * Current or history within one year of meeting DSM-5 criteria for a moderate or severe alcohol, or other drug use disorder (excluding tobacco and caffeine) * Nicotine dependence that would be incompatible with an individual to be nicotine free for 8-10 hours on a psilocybin session day * Have a first degree relative with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders (except substance/medication-induced or due to another medical condition), or bipolar I disorder

Where

1 study site

FacilityCityRegionCountry
Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUnited 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.

Before you do, the preparation checklist lists what a site will ask you on a first call and what is worth asking them. It is free and collects nothing.

NCT05546658 on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Last updated in the registry 2026-04-02. Registry records change; this page reflects the data build of 2026-08-25.

Related

Where this trial sits