A company is addressing concerns over the medical application of microdosing by developing a molecule that could eliminate the potential risk of heart damage.
Many people have begun self-medicating by microdosing LSD or psilocybin. This development follows anecdotal reports the practice could be beneficial for improving mood and mental health conditions. However, scientific data on the efficacy of the practice is limited – and a previous study has suggested it could have a detrimental impact on heart health, in particular could risk heart valve tissue fibrosis.
The study highlights that in the 1960s researchers noted a connection between the use of “several ergot-derived medications with structures similar to serotonin and the development of heart valve pathologies similar to those observed in carcinoid patients.” Until the late 1990s the reason for this was unclear, but eventually, further studies identified the 5-HT2B receptor as the molecular target that led to the condition.
Psilocin – the active metabolite of psilocybin – has a strong binding affinity to 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B serotonin receptors, meaning that consuming low doses of psilocybin over a long period of time could present cardiac risks.
One company – Mydecine Innovations Group – recently stated that it will be including a novel molecule that could combat this risk in its family of psilocin analogues they call MYCO-005. The analogues are a family of second-generation molecules that directly address delivery and stability concerns with the first-generation compounds, according to the company.
Mydecine chief scientific officer, Rob Roscow, commented: “When you consider any drug intended to be taken over a long period of time, there is often a strong medical risk involved. When it comes to psilocybin in particular, there are cardiovascular health concerns due to the binding affinity to the 5-HT2B receptor.”
“Through our ongoing research, we have found that one of our psilocin analogs is showing strong binding at the classic psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor, but is not binding to the 5-HT2B receptor. This is a strong indication that our improved psilocin analog could potentially produce the same benefits of natural psilocybin with an increased safety profile for microdosing.”
CEO, Josh Bartch, added: “We are very excited about our MYCO-005 family of molecules. Not only have we made improvements to this second generation of compounds to specifically address concerns for medical use, like onset time and shelf stability, but now we believe we have also identified a microdosing compound that is safer than what’s currently available on the market.
“This is one of many exciting drug discoveries we look forward to sharing in the near term.”
More research is still needed on the practice, but clinical studies on microdosing can be difficult to carry out as both LSD and psilocybin are classed as Schedule 1 drugs in the US and the UK.
One recent citizen science study from by University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus (UBCO) reported that people who reported to be microdosing showed fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression and greater feelings of wellbeing compared to those who did not.
The most commonly used substance in the study’s sample was psilocybin at 85 per cent, however, the study researchers noted that further investigation was needed to better determine the impacts of factors like dosage and “stacking” – combining microdoses of psychedelics with other substances like niacin, lions mane mushrooms and cacao.
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