JeannyTSY site, Health & Beauty: January 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Blumarine Spring-Summer 2012 Collection

’Shrooms May Help Treat Depression: Study

By Makiko Kitamura - Jan 24, 2012 3:00 AM GMT+0700

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms, may help people with depression, based on two studies that suggest that the drug could have an enduring effect on patients.

In a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 30 healthy volunteers took psilocybin intravenously and had their brains observed with magnetic resonance imaging scanners. Activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, which is hyperactive in depression, was consistently lowered, according to the research led by David Nutt and Robin Carhart-Harris of Imperial College London.

A second study, to be published Jan. 26 in the British Journal of Psychiatry and conducted by the same researchers, found that psilocybin enhanced volunteers’ recollections of positive personal memories, compared with those who took a placebo.

“Our findings support the idea that psilocybin facilitates access to personal memories and emotions,” Carhart-Harris said in a statement. “This effect needs to be investigated further but it suggests that used in combination with psychotherapy, psilocybin might help people recall positive life events and reverse pessimistic mindsets.”

Timothy Leary

Magic mushrooms, also known as “’shrooms,’’ have been used for centuries in healing ceremonies and were employed extensively in psychotherapy in the 1950s, according to Carhart- Harris. The fungi, favored by former Harvard University psychologist Timothy Leary, who founded the Harvard Psilocybin Project, are typically eaten but can also be dried and smoked or made into a tea.

Psilocybin mushrooms are a schedule I substance in the U.S., which means the government considers them to have a high potential for abuse and no legitimate medical purpose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The findings provide support for further research, and Carhart-Harris plans to follow up with a controlled study of 60 patients with depression that may start by the end of this year, he said today in a briefing in London.

As a treatment option, psilocybin may provide an “enduring benefit” after a single dosage, compared with expensive anti- depressant medications that need to be taken daily and have side effects, Nutt said. No negative effects were observed among the study participants, Carhart-Harris said.

The authors cite a recent study by Roland Griffiths at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine in Baltimore, which found that depression scores in terminal cancer patients were significantly decreased six months after treatment with psilocybin.

The research at Imperial College London was funded by the Oxford, England-based Beckley Foundation; the Neuropsychoanalysis Foundation in New York; the Santa Cruz, California-based Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies; and the Heffter Research Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

To contact the reporter on this story: Makiko Kitamura in London at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net

Alberta Ferretti Pre-Fall 2012 2013 - Milano

Golden Globe award

Actor George Clooney appears on stage during the 69th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012

Actress Nicole Kidman arrives at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012.

Actress Kate Winslet holds her award for best performance by an actress in a mini-series or motion picture made for television for "Mildred Pierce" during the 69th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012

Presentor and actor Johnny Depp speaks on stage at the 69th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012

Actress Kate Winslet arrives at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012

Kate Winslet poses with her award for best performance by an actress in a mini-series or motion picture made for television for "Mildred Pierce," backstage at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012

Actress Nicole Kidman (L) and her husband, musician Keith Urban, arrive at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012

Presentor and actor Johnny Depp (L) and show host Ricky Gervais laugh on stage at the 69th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012

Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012.

Actresses Natalie Portman (L) and Meryl Streep pose as they arrive at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012.

Actress Meryl Streep, winner of the best performance by an actress in a drama motion picture for her role in "The Iron Lady", poses in the photo room at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, January 15, 2012

Actress Meryl Streep shows off her Golden Globe award for the best performance by an actress in a motion picture - drama for her work in " The Iron Lady" during her arrival at the The Weinstein Company after party following the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012

Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012.

Actress Angelina Jolie poses as she arrives at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012

Actress and director Angelina Jolie's purse and jewelry are seen as she arrives at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012.

Actress and director Angelina Jolie's shoes are seen as she arrives at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2012