Cargando…

A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers

BACKGROUND: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is an ergot alkaloid derivative with psychedelic properties that has been implicated in the management of persistent pain. Clinical studies in the 1960s and 1970s have demonstrated profound analgesic effects of full doses of LSD in terminally ill patients...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Ramaekers, Johannes G, Hutten, Nadia, Mason, Natasha L, Dolder, Patrick, Theunissen, Eef L, Holze, Friederike, Liechti, Matthias E, Feilding, Amanda, Kuypers, Kim PC
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: SAGE Publications 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8054163/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32842825
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269881120940937
_version_ 1783680251457437696
author Ramaekers, Johannes G
Hutten, Nadia
Mason, Natasha L
Dolder, Patrick
Theunissen, Eef L
Holze, Friederike
Liechti, Matthias E
Feilding, Amanda
Kuypers, Kim PC
author_facet Ramaekers, Johannes G
Hutten, Nadia
Mason, Natasha L
Dolder, Patrick
Theunissen, Eef L
Holze, Friederike
Liechti, Matthias E
Feilding, Amanda
Kuypers, Kim PC
author_sort Ramaekers, Johannes G
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is an ergot alkaloid derivative with psychedelic properties that has been implicated in the management of persistent pain. Clinical studies in the 1960s and 1970s have demonstrated profound analgesic effects of full doses of LSD in terminally ill patients, but this line of research evaporated after LSD was scheduled worldwide. AIM: The present clinical study is the first to revisit the potential of LSD as an analgesic, and at dose levels which are not expected to produce profound mind-altering effects. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy volunteers received single doses of 5, 10 and 20 µg LSD as well as placebo on separate occasions. A Cold Pressor Test was administered at 1.5 and 5 h after treatment administration to assess pain tolerance to experimentally evoked pain. Ratings of dissociation and psychiatric symptoms as well as assessments of vital signs were included to monitor mental status as well as safety during treatments. RESULTS: LSD 20 µg significantly increased the time that participants were able to tolerate exposure to cold (3°C) water and decreased their subjective levels of experienced pain and unpleasantness. LSD elevated mean blood pressure within the normal range and slightly increased ratings of dissociation, anxiety and somatization. CONCLUSION: The present study provides evidence of a protracted analgesic effect of LSD at a dose that is low enough to avoid a psychedelic experience. The present data warrant further research into the analgesic effects of low doses of LSD in patient populations.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8054163
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher SAGE Publications
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-80541632021-05-04 A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers Ramaekers, Johannes G Hutten, Nadia Mason, Natasha L Dolder, Patrick Theunissen, Eef L Holze, Friederike Liechti, Matthias E Feilding, Amanda Kuypers, Kim PC J Psychopharmacol Original Papers BACKGROUND: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is an ergot alkaloid derivative with psychedelic properties that has been implicated in the management of persistent pain. Clinical studies in the 1960s and 1970s have demonstrated profound analgesic effects of full doses of LSD in terminally ill patients, but this line of research evaporated after LSD was scheduled worldwide. AIM: The present clinical study is the first to revisit the potential of LSD as an analgesic, and at dose levels which are not expected to produce profound mind-altering effects. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy volunteers received single doses of 5, 10 and 20 µg LSD as well as placebo on separate occasions. A Cold Pressor Test was administered at 1.5 and 5 h after treatment administration to assess pain tolerance to experimentally evoked pain. Ratings of dissociation and psychiatric symptoms as well as assessments of vital signs were included to monitor mental status as well as safety during treatments. RESULTS: LSD 20 µg significantly increased the time that participants were able to tolerate exposure to cold (3°C) water and decreased their subjective levels of experienced pain and unpleasantness. LSD elevated mean blood pressure within the normal range and slightly increased ratings of dissociation, anxiety and somatization. CONCLUSION: The present study provides evidence of a protracted analgesic effect of LSD at a dose that is low enough to avoid a psychedelic experience. The present data warrant further research into the analgesic effects of low doses of LSD in patient populations. SAGE Publications 2020-08-25 2021-04 /pmc/articles/PMC8054163/ /pubmed/32842825 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269881120940937 Text en © The Author(s) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
spellingShingle Original Papers
Ramaekers, Johannes G
Hutten, Nadia
Mason, Natasha L
Dolder, Patrick
Theunissen, Eef L
Holze, Friederike
Liechti, Matthias E
Feilding, Amanda
Kuypers, Kim PC
A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers
title A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers
title_full A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers
title_fullStr A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers
title_full_unstemmed A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers
title_short A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers
title_sort low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers
topic Original Papers
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8054163/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32842825
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269881120940937
work_keys_str_mv AT ramaekersjohannesg alowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT huttennadia alowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT masonnatashal alowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT dolderpatrick alowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT theunisseneefl alowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT holzefriederike alowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT liechtimatthiase alowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT feildingamanda alowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT kuyperskimpc alowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT ramaekersjohannesg lowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT huttennadia lowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT masonnatashal lowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT dolderpatrick lowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT theunisseneefl lowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT holzefriederike lowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT liechtimatthiase lowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT feildingamanda lowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers
AT kuyperskimpc lowdoseoflysergicaciddiethylamidedecreasespainperceptioninhealthyvolunteers