This case study (n=1) describes an immunocompetent male with neuropsychiatric Lyme disease who did not respond to conventional treatments. However, his symptoms improved when he started using psilocybin in sub-hallucinogenic doses. Psilocybin is both serotonergic and anti-inflammatory, which may benefit patients with mental illness secondary to autoimmune inflammation.
Abstract
“Lyme disease can result in severe neuropsychiatric symptoms that may be resistant to treatment. The pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric Lyme disease is associated with autoimmune induced neuroinflammation. This case report describes an immunocompetent male with serologically positive neuropsychiatric Lyme disease who did not tolerate antimicrobial or psychotropic medications and whose symptoms remitted when he began psilocybin in microdosed (sub-hallucinogenic) amounts. A literature review of its therapeutic benefits reveals that psilocybin is both serotonergic and anti-inflammatory and therefore may offer significant therapeutic benefits to patients with mental illness secondary to autoimmune inflammation. The role of microdosed psilocybin in the treatment of neuropsychiatric Lyme disease and autoimmune encephalopathies warrants further study.”
Author: Daniel A. Kinderlehrer
Summary of The Effectiveness of Microdosed Psilocybin in the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is often complicated by co-infections, other microbes that are additionally transmitted by Ixodes ticks and exacerbate the clinical picture. Bartonella spp. is associated with various mental health disorders, including anxiety, panic disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, eating disorders, alcohol and drug abuse, psychosis and personality disorders.
Psilocybin has been shown to have potential value in treating some mental health conditions. It is a serotonin agonist and has anti-inflammatory activity.
Study details
Compounds studied
Psilocybin
Topics studied
Microdosing
Immunity
Study characteristics
Case Study
Participants
1
Humans