Can Psilocybin Make us Live Longer? And Ease the Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease?

Two New Studies Offer Intriguing Findings for Older Adults

In 1974, I was a junior at an experimental DC public high school called School Without Walls, where students could take advantage of the many learning opportunities available in the nation’s capital.

That year, I signed up for a biology class at a lab at the National Institutes of Health. I remember how excited I was at that first meeting, seated at a bench in an oversized white lab coat.

The next day, I was informed that only the boy students would be continuing at NIH as it was felt that girls were too disruptive. Fifty years later, the disappointment and injustice still sting.

I wasn’t disruptive…

My future career in science may have been nipped in the bud. But all my life I’ve been a research nerd. Since immersing myself in the psychedelics field, I always pay close attention to new developments in science, particularly as they relate to aging and older adults.

Recently, not one, but two intriguing stories crossed my news feed – both about psilocybin.

Psilocybin – what puts the psychedelic magic in magic mushrooms – is well known for its effects on the mind and spirit. But these studies suggest it might also impact the way our bodies age…

Psilocybin prolongs lifespan – and hair quality – at least if you’re a mouse…

The first news item was a report from Emory University that psilocybin extends the longevity of cells – and mice! Published in the journal npj Aging, the study made quite the media splash – sparking headlines such as: ‘Forget Botox! Scientists say tripping on mushrooms might keep you young.’ (thanks to Josh Hardman of Psychedelic Alpha for that doozy).

Not surprisingly, reading the original study presents a more nuanced picture …

First, the researchers put human skin and lung cells in a petri dish and bathed them in psilocin - a compound derived from psilocybin. The psilocybin-enhanced cells’ lifespan was extended by well over 50% – with higher doses associated with greater longevity.

Then they took a sample of older mice – equivalent in human years to their early sixties – and injected half of them with psilocybin over a ten-month period. Not only did the mice treated with psilocybin live notably longer than the control group, but they also looked better, with healthier fur and fewer white hairs.

I’ll live longer outside of the lab.

Promising, and yet…

The designers of this study were hoping to discover whether psilocybin has therapeutic potential as an anti-aging intervention. And while the findings do seem to suggest this, alas, the road to the fountain of youth is not so straightforward…

It typically takes years of work and millions of dollars to determine if – and that’s a big if - an experimental drug that works in a lab dish or a mouse is safe and effective in humans. When the drug is a Schedule 1 controlled substance, the process becomes even more time-consuming and costly.

And yet, many believe that, with the new administration, the pipeline for bringing psychedelic drugs through the FDA is about to get much shorter. And between the health, anti-aging and beauty industries, there is clearly a huge incentive for pursuing this line of research. So who can predict when we’ll see a new wave of anti-aging mushroom serums and hair products hitting the market?

In the meantime, an unknown number of older adults are microdosing psilocybin without scientific validation, and, at least anecdotally, to great effect. Whether they live longer – or have fewer white hairs - remains to be seen…

Psilocybin for Parkinson’s

The second news item related to a pilot study at UCSF evaluating the safety of psilocybin in Parkinson’s disease. The findings from that study were so compelling that the Michael J Fox Foundation funded its extension to a second site at Yale.

Parkinson’s disease, with its grim trajectory of diminishing physical capacities, depression, and cognitive decline, is a disease primarily of older age. While psilocybin-assisted therapy has been shown to alleviate depression and anxiety in chronic and terminal illness, people with PD are typically excluded from clinical trials because the risk factors they present are poorly understood. In their pilot study, UCSF researchers produced the first evidence that psilocybin is safe and tolerable for this population.

Many of the participants reported that their depression and anxiety improved after the treatment. Tjhey also reported positive changes in learning, memory, and other measures of cognition. For most, the changes were still evident at the one-month follow-up.

To the surprise of the researchers, in addition to these psychological changes, many described improvements in their tremor and other motor symptoms of the disease after the treatment.

Artwork by Lauren Meyer (AKA Painter Dancer)

Neuroplasticity or Something Else?

Psilocybin is known to promote the growth of new brain cells and connections. That process, known as neuroplasticity, is associated with the enhanced psychological wellbeing experienced after psychedelic-assisted therapy. Perhaps, the study authors speculate, these changes could account for the improvement in the physical symptoms as well.

In follow-up studies, researchers at UCSF and Yale will be looking to confirm this by examining changes in neuronal structures using a variety of imaging technologies.

And yet, aside from the statistics and the brain scans, much can be learned about psilocybin’s therapeutic effects from the what the study participants had to say.

In a zoom call, the principal investigator of the UCSF study, Josh Woolley, shared these observations:

“Some people said they had fewer symptoms. But a lot of them found that their symptoms were simply less bothersome. Like, ‘maybe I still have the tremor, but it doesn't upset me like it did before’…

The most consistent narrative was, ‘Yes, it’s depressing that I have Parkinson’s, and I know it’s gonna get worse. But there’s still a lot I can do in my life. It’s just one of the things affecting me. But it’s not me.’”

This shift towards acceptance is consistent with the experience of terminal cancer patients in psilocybin trials. It’s not that the treatment cured their disease or made their symptoms go away – it simply reframed how they related to their illness.

Hopefully, these and future findings will make it possible for patients with PD to receive psilocybin-assisted therapy. For now, however, the federal prohibition of psilocybin means that, outside of participating in a clinical trial (and the UCSF and Yale locations are enrolling volunteers), the estimated million Americans living with Parkinson’s disease cannot legally access this form of therapy in the United States.

Meanwhile, in the parallel, underground universe, people with Parkinson’s are finding ways to treat themselves. Two women I interviewed for my book described how they and their late husbands used psilocybin during the later stages of the disease. Both shared how beneficial the experience was for the emotional state of their spouse, for them as a couple, and as a family. They also observed transitory but positive effects on their spouse’s physical symptoms.

Obviously these experiences are only anecdotal. And the people involved were very experienced and familiar with psilocybin and its effects.

Still, it’s important to emphasize that psilocybin treatment is not a walk in the park. In the UCSF study, several of the participants required significant support for anxiety and other symptoms during their psilocybin sessions and afterwards. And yet, on a post-treatment questionnaire, all the participants agreed that, while the treatment was challenging, it was to some degree helpful.

To be absolutely clear, these comments should not be construed as medical advice or advocating illegal activity. Older adults interested in exploring psilocybin for therapeutic or other reasons are strongly encouraged to do their due diligence and discuss their intentions with a qualified healthcare provider…