Psychedelic Research

Imperial College London researchers report in Nature Medicine that a single intravenous dose of the psychedelic dimethyltryptamine (DMT) produced significantly greater reductions in major depressive disorder symptoms than placebo in a small, randomized clinical trial. Thirty‑four adults with moderate to severe depression who had already failed at least two standard treatments were assigned to receive either a 21.5 mg DMT infusion over 10 minutes or an IV placebo, with symptoms tracked using the Montgomery‑Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. Two weeks after dosing, the DMT group showed larger decreases in depression severity, and some participants reported that benefits persisted for up to six months. No serious adverse events were reported, though the trial excluded people with recent serious suicide attempts and had limited ethnic diversity, and investigators say larger studies are needed before regulators could consider approval. The work adds to growing evidence that short‑acting psychedelics, alongside ketamine, may offer fast‑acting relief for hard‑to‑treat depression, an area of intense interest in U.S. psychiatry, veteran care, and drug regulation.