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Herb Daniels attempted suicide twice before deciding to try anything to make life livable again.
The 52-year-old former Green Beret suffered from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, and has survived the loss of many fellow soldiers over the years, some of whom committed suicide. Ta. After retiring in 2017, he became dependent on alcohol and was prescribed medication, but neither could alleviate his excruciating fear and anxiety.
In July 2022, Daniels booked a trip to Tijuana as part of an experimental psychoactive treatment. He knew little about ibogaine, a hallucinogen derived from the root bark of African rainforest plants, and neither did many American scientists. But he signed up for the treatment anyway, along with other veterans who forced him to report on the possibility of treatment.
“The reality is all I could do was hope, because I needed hope to survive,” said Daniels, who lives in Tacoma, Washington.
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According to the survey results Published Friday in Nature MedicineFor Daniels and most of the more than 20 other Special Forces veterans who participated, ibogaine seemed to reduce symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and improve cognitive function from traumatic brain injury. The Stanford University study is one of the first to investigate the use of ibogaine to repair traumatic brain injuries caused by head trauma or explosions.
This discovery was one of the earliest studies on ibogaine. schedule I drugs. These come amid growing support and federal funding for the use of psychedelic drugs to treat trauma in veterans. Ibogaine is not currently available in the United States, so veterans must travel to Mexico or other countries for treatment.
Daniels and his colleagues visited a grassroots clinic in Mexico that offers this treatment. It was there that Stanford University researchers observed patient outcomes and collected data.
“This is fundamentally a grassroots problem,” study author Dr. Nolan Williams, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, told USA TODAY. “It was really driven by those early observations, and then on our part, basically believing in patients, believing in families, and really trying to understand why people are getting so much benefit. It was driven by a desire to.”
Daniels said he hopes such treatments will help his fellow soldiers recovering from 20 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, suicide rates among veterans are higher than the general population. 2023 report.Research shows that suicide rates among special forces members are even higher.
“Believe in your patients”
The study followed 30 male Special Forces veterans from November 2021 to November 2022. All had a history of traumatic brain injury and had been exposed to repeated explosions that led to subsequent psychiatric symptoms and disabilities. Twenty-three participants in the study had PTSD, half met criteria for major depressive disorder, and 14 had an anxiety disorder.
non-profit organization Veterans seeking treatment, or VETS, paid for veterans to travel and independently schedule treatment at Ambio Life Sciences Clinics. According to the study, ibogaine tablets were administered according to body weight under the supervision of medical staff such as doctors, nurses and paramedics, and the average dose was just over 1 gram.
This dose is combined with an intravenous infusion of 1 gram of magnesium sulfate, administered before the tablets are administered, to address the risk of ibogaine, which slows the normal electrical signals that control the heart’s rhythm and can be fatal. It was intended to. The Stanford University study observed no side effects from the treatment, although some people reported headaches and nausea.
Veterans were coached and monitored by clinicians before, during, and after treatment.
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Rating disability on a scale of 0 to 100, veterans entered the program with an average rating of 30.2 overall. This means you have mild to moderate disability. One month after receiving treatment, his average rating improved to 5.1. This means that men no longer register as having a disability according to the scale. One month after treatment, the veteran’s PTSD symptoms had decreased by 88%. 87% reduction in depression. And his anxiety decreased by 81%. Cognitive outcomes also improved, showing improved concentration, information processing, memory, and impulsivity control.
Study participants received one ibogaine treatment.
Potential benefits are multiple, but more research is needed
The study authors are quick to point out that their study is a first step with obvious limitations. Their sample was just 30 people, almost all white, and all former combatants. Additionally, the researchers noted that the men were aware that they would be receiving a single dose of ibogaine, making it impossible to compare the results with those in which some participants might have received a placebo.
Dr. John Crystal, chair of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, who was not connected to the study, said the findings are very interesting and should encourage further research, but the Stanford study is very preliminary. He warned that it should be viewed as such. It is difficult to know whether a patient’s benefit is attributable to the drug, to other aspects of the patient’s treatment experience or general trends, or to elite fighters who are resilient and willing to travel to Mexico. be., He hopes to get back on his feet quickly, he wrote in an email.
There is existing evidence showing ibogaine’s therapeutic efficacy. Dependence and depression. However, director David Olson Psychedelic Therapeutic Research Institute Researchers at the University of California, Davis, said the Stanford study appears to be the first to use the drug to address traumatic brain injury. Olson, who was not involved in the study, said it is important to consider that study participants entered treatment expecting to experience change. However, he noted that some of the study results would not have been influenced by what the subjects wanted to happen. The researchers tested neurocognitive effects that are not influenced by human desire.
He said the study “demonstrated that this ibogaine treatment paradigm can not only rescue some of the psychological symptoms, but also some of the neurocognitive problems seen in patients with traumatic brain injury.”
The immediate questions are whether the results can be replicated among nonveteran patients and whether clinical trials can demonstrate broader success among randomized participants. It also remains to be seen how pharmaceutical companies will produce ibogaine, which is derived from a rare African plant traditionally used for ritual purposes.
“We will not start a war within our country.”
For leaders of the nonprofit organization VETS, which supported the study, the results were reaffirming. Amber Capone founded VETS with her husband Marcus, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after years as a football player and Navy SEAL. He first took ibogaine in 2017, and in 2019 founded a nonprofit organization to help counsel, monitor and follow up veterans seeking ibogaine treatment.
“It allows someone to grow and live and actually live the second half of a great life,” Amber Capone said. “We are not at war abroad. We are not at war at home. We are not at war within the walls of our own homes. But we are actually at peace.”
In the past, doctors have used psychedelics to address personal health issues, using psilocybin, a compound found in magic mushrooms, for depression and MDMA (ecstasy) to treat PTSD. I did it. But ibogaine is unique in its apparent ability to treat multiple conditions at the same time, according to Williams from the Stanford University study.
“When you look at it through that lens, it looks pretty unique and pretty groundbreaking in its far-reaching effects,” he said. “We’ll have to try harder to really know that. But the first time we see this, the first time we see it, it looks very convincing.”
Growing federal support
This latest study, along with other findings regarding psychedelic treatments, has garnered bipartisan support from lawmakers. Just before Christmas, President Joe Biden signed the updated National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation includes a provision sponsored by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a former SEAL who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, that would allow active-duty military personnel with traumatic brain injuries or PTSD to Includes $10 million in grants for research into psychedelic treatments. and other diseases.
The overall goal is to find safe psychedelic treatments through clinical trials, Crenshaw said. The Stanford study advances that, he said.
“We’ve already seen it save lives, but this is from anecdotal evidence,” Crenshaw told USA TODAY. “We need strong and verifiable authority to conduct these trials.”
In the coming months, Stanford University researchers plan to further analyze the data they collected to understand how ibogaine works to restore brain function. In addition to influencing new psychedelic treatments, the findings could expand the use of ibogaine to treat other forms of cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. experts said.
Since his treatment, Daniels, a former Green Beret, has started his own home improvement business. He also helps other veterans navigate such treatment options. He credits VETS and the Veterans Administration for giving him the tools to move forward.
Eduardo Cuevas covers health and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can contact him at: EMCuevas1@usatoday.com.