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🇧🇴 Bolivia /Health & Science

Psilocybin Prevents Chemotherapy Side Effect in Mice, Study Finds

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Researchers at the University of Texas found that psilocybin prevented chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in mice receiving platinum-based and taxane chemotherapy.
  • The protective effect lasted through as many as six repeated treatment cycles and did not reduce chemotherapy’s antitumor activity.
  • The findings suggest a possible neuroprotective role for serotonin receptors, but the reported research was conducted in animals.

A psychedelic compound prevented one of chemotherapy’s most debilitating side effects in mice, according to a study published in Science. Researchers found that giving psilocybin before platinum-based chemotherapy prevented nerve damage without weakening the treatment’s ability to fight tumors.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy affects more than 60% of patients receiving platinum-based cancer treatments. It can cause persistent pain, burning sensations and numbness, sometimes reducing quality of life enough to force limits or interruptions in cancer therapy. Existing treatments generally provide only moderate relief.

The University of Texas-led team tested psilocybin in mice, including animals with tumors that received repeated, clinically relevant cycles of platinum-based and taxane chemotherapy. Pretreatment prevented the neuropathy for as many as six cycles, and the benefit lasted over time.

Psilocybin does more than reduce pain signals by protecting the nerves themselves through the supply of energy.

· Patrick DoughertyDougherty described the study’s proposed neuroprotective mechanism.

The condition has been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction and the progressive degeneration of the most distant sections of sensory nerve fibers. Earlier research suggested that psilocybin promotes neural plasticity through the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, which may also affect mitochondrial production and pain-sensing pathways. The researchers proposed that this temporary capacity for neural reorganization could create lasting protection in the nervous system.

“Psilocybin does more than reduce pain signals by protecting the nerves themselves through the supply of energy,” said Patrick Dougherty, one of the study’s authors. He said the neuroprotective effect could help patients “withstand the stress of chemotherapy, maintaining sensitivity, mobility and quality of life during treatment and long after overcoming the disease.”

withstand the stress of chemotherapy, maintaining sensitivity, mobility and quality of life during treatment and long after overcoming the disease.

· Patrick DoughertyDougherty explained the potential benefit of preventing chemotherapy-induced nerve damage.
About this summary

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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