thegrim33
5 hours ago
The results are based on a grand total of 25 people in the psilocybin group and 21 people in the SSRI group. The sample size is pretty small.
The methodology is also kind of strange, the psilocybin group got a total of 20 hours of in-person therapy during their 'treatment' and 6 follow-up skype calls, whereas the SSRI didn't get anything other than the 6 month questionaire. Those 20 hours of personalized therapy while they were dosing had no effect on their psychology? Any change was all a result of the psilocybin and not the 20 hours of therapy?
They also measured results by a self-administered 16 question "quick inventory" depression survey. To enter the study they had to be officially diagnosed with major depression by a doctor, but the results of the study were based completely around a self-reported 16 question questionaire?
notfed
an hour ago
If that's true, I'm confused how this is a "double-blind, randomized, controlled trial"?
Also, what's up with drug studies always having such a low sample size? Is it really that hard to find people who'd volunteer to get free drugs?
andoando
35 minutes ago
Its expensive. Statistically speaking its really not that small. You can always argue p hacking but these are always useful as a means to do further research
Affric
an hour ago
Often you’re not allowed on your medication for any of your other health issues.
londons_explore
37 minutes ago
We need a new approach to randomly controlled trials.
I propose a new approach: Rather than given treatment vs not given treatment, we instead vary the dose slightly, and we include the whole world in the trial.
Ie. instead of taking 100mg of Advil, instead you will receive somewhere between 95mg and 105mg of Advil. You won't be told how much you got - but the barcode on the box will encode that info. That already might be the case due to allowed inaccuracies, but now we're gonna measure and record it.
Later, the data of which box was dispensed is combined with any other relevant medical records, and across the hundreds of millions of people involved, any benefit/disadvantage of a small increase or decrease in dose will become apparent.
napoleongl
an hour ago
The article states that both groups received psychological support though. The only mention of 20 hours I find in the article is as an option to psilocybin. Does the original research article say something else?
luckydata
19 minutes ago
Therapy is such a wash statistically that I'm not particularly confused or concerned by that, and everyone that has ever taken psylocibin knows the results are typical.
arcticbull
7 minutes ago
It’s kinda interesting you say that because studies show that SSRIs are not much better than placebo for treating depression, and that therapy plus SSRIs is the best treatment available right now.