Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability. Sequelae can include functional impairments and psychiatric syndromes such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. Special Operations Forces (SOF) veterans (SOVs) may be at an elevated risk for these complications, leading some to seek underexplored treatment alternatives such as the oneirogen ibogaine, a plant-derived compound known to interact with multiple neurotransmitter systems that has been studied primarily as a treatment for substance use disorders. Ibogaine has been associated with instances of fatal cardiac arrhythmia, but coadministration of magnesium may mitigate this concern. In the present study, we report a prospective observational study of the Magnesium–Ibogaine: the Stanford Traumatic Injury to the CNS protocol (MISTIC), provided together with complementary treatment modalities, in 30 male SOVs with predominantly mild TBI. We assessed changes in the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule from baseline to immediately (primary outcome) and 1 month (secondary outcome) after treatment. Additional secondary outcomes included changes in PTSD (Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5), depression (Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale) and anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale). MISTIC resulted in significant improvements in functioning both immediately (Pcorrected < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.74) and 1 month (Pcorrected < 0.001, d = 2.20) after treatment and in PTSD (Pcorrected < 0.001, d = 2.54), depression (Pcorrected < 0.001, d = 2.80) and anxiety (Pcorrected < 0.001, d = 2.13) at 1 month after treatment. There were no unexpected or serious adverse events. Controlled clinical trials to assess safety and efficacy are needed to validate these initial open-label findings. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT04313712.

Psychedelika in der Psychiatrie

“…Die Anwendung von anderen Substanzen wie DMT bei Depressionen [34] oder Ibogain bei Suchterkrankungen [35] oder Hirnverletzungen und PTSD [36] steht noch am Anfang der Untersuchungen. Auch der Einsatz von LSD wird wohl wegen der deutlich längeren und damit aufwändigeren Anwendungsdauer in dieser Zeit, entgegen dem letzten Jahrhundert, seltener untersucht, wenn auch neue positive Studien zur Anwendung bei Ängsten bei terminal erkrankten Menschen durchgeführt wurden [37].…”

On serotonin, psychedelics, entactogens and psychoplastogens in depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and related disorders.

“…A 2 nd phase 3 study has been completed with similar results (Mitchell et al, 2023; see also Nicholas et al, 2022). Interestingly, a very recent post-hoc study performed in army veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury-(TBI) related PTSD, shows that 1 single dose of ibogaine has sustained effects on depression and anxiety readouts (up to 80% decrease in symptoms) from 1 day up to 4 weeks following treatment (Cherian et al, 2024), ibogaine improved sleep as well (Faerman et al, 2023).…”