Could Psilocybin Help Protect Nerves During Chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy can be a lifesaving treatment, but it can also come with a painful and sometimes long-lasting side effect: nerve damage.

Now, researchers have discovered an intriguing possibility. A new study suggests that psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms,” may help protect nerves from some of the damage caused by chemotherapy.

There’s a major catch, though: the research has only been conducted in mice and human nerve cells so far. No one should take psilocybin as a treatment for chemotherapy-related nerve damage based on these findings.

A Common Side Effect of Cancer Treatment

The condition researchers are studying is called chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, or CIPN. It can cause burning pain, tingling, numbness and extreme sensitivity to things like cold or touch.

CIPN affects an estimated one-third to one-half of patients receiving certain chemotherapy drugs. In serious cases, the nerve damage can become severe enough that doctors have to reduce the chemotherapy dose or stop treatment altogether. It can also cause mobility problems and increase the risk of falls and fractures.

Researchers have been looking for ways to prevent CIPN for years.

The Unexpected Psilocybin Connection

The research team at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center wasn't originally searching for a treatment for chemotherapy-related nerve damage.

Instead, researchers were investigating whether substances that encourage neuroplasticity — the nervous system's ability to adapt and change — could potentially protect nerves.

After testing several psychedelic compounds, psilocybin stood out.

In experiments involving mice, researchers gave the animals two doses of psilocybin before treating them with cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug known to frequently cause nerve damage.

The results were striking.

The mice that received psilocybin did not develop the same hypersensitivity seen in untreated animals. The treatment also reduced sensitivity to cold and helped preserve nerve endings in the skin.

Even more interesting, the protective effect continued through as many as six rounds of chemotherapy.

It May Be About the Cell's "Power Supply"

So how could a psychedelic drug possibly protect nerves?

Researchers believe the answer may involve mitochondria, often described as the power plants of cells.

Nerve cells can stretch long distances throughout the body, meaning they have to transport mitochondria along microscopic structures called microtubules. These mitochondria supply energy to distant parts of the nerve.

The researchers compared the system to a railroad: chemotherapy can damage both the energy-producing mitochondria and the microscopic “tracks” that transport them.

In experiments involving human sensory neurons and peripheral nerve tissue, cisplatin reduced mitochondria and ATP — the cell's primary energy currency — in parts of the nerve.

Psilocybin didn't simply make the mitochondria produce more energy. Instead, it appeared to help preserve their ability to travel to the parts of the nerve where they were needed, keeping energy supplies available at nerve endings.

What About the Hallucinations?

One of the most intriguing parts of the study is that researchers found evidence suggesting the protective effect involves the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, which is also involved in many of psilocybin's psychedelic effects.

Researchers tested another compound designed to activate the same receptor without producing hallucinations. That compound also protected mice from chemotherapy-related nerve damage.

That raises an obvious question: Could a future treatment provide the potential nerve-protective benefits without the psychedelic experience?

Researchers don't know the answer yet.

The study's authors also caution that psilocybin's psychedelic effects could potentially contribute to its neuroprotective properties in ways scientists don't yet understand.

Don't Try This at Home

While the findings are promising, researchers stress that this is very early-stage science.

The study does not prove that psilocybin can prevent chemotherapy-related neuropathy in cancer patients. Different chemotherapy drugs can damage nerves through different mechanisms, so protection against cisplatin may not work against every type of chemotherapy.

Most importantly, psilocybin has not yet been systematically tested in humans for preventing CIPN.

Researchers at MD Anderson are now preparing a clinical trial to investigate whether the approach could eventually be used in cancer patients.

If human trials show that it is both safe and effective, psilocybin or related compounds could potentially open a completely new avenue for protecting the nervous system during cancer treatment.

For now, though, the takeaway is simple: the mushroom compound may have a surprising ability to protect nerves — but researchers still have a long way to go before we know whether that discovery can actually help people.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.