LeeLemonoil
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Microdosed LSD: Finally A Breakthrough For Alzheimer’s Disease?
But I read the work of Professor Charles Nichols at Louisiana State University, who found that some psychedelics potently reduced inflammation at levels that would be predicted not to be psychoactive or even perceptible, via activation of the serotonin 2A receptor, which besides being expressed in the brain, is also highly expressed throughout the body. And this got me very excited.
I continued to dig into the literature, and found that the same receptor that mediates the psychoactivity of psychedelics is also implicated in the effects these compounds have in terms of providing protection against oxidative stress, enhancing neuroplasticity, and alleviating depression and anxiety. And because these compounds are anti-inflammatory, they address a constellation of dysregulated functions in aging.
Digging further, I found research indicating that this receptor, if it was engaged by a psychedelic drug, would also reduce the amount of toxic amyloid that was produced in an organism. And I thought that was interesting, because at the time, and certainly for the prior decade, amyloid was the primary target for Alzheimer's disease.
When I put together the entire picture of what psychedelics were doing, it became quite clear that this could be a therapy to modify the course of Alzheimer's disease. LSD in particular seemed like an attractive candidate for such a therapeutic approach, as it is capable of potent and prolonged activation of the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmission receptors implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, and specifically the serotonin 2A receptor.
If you look at the symptoms of Alzheimer's and the disease progression, not only is the loss of 2A receptor expression correlated with cognitive impairment and toxic amyloid burden, but you also have a significant increase in the incidence of depression and anxiety, which are psychiatric conditions known to be significantly influenced by serotonin 2A receptor function.
Given the extensive clinical evidence of LSD’s efficacy in treating alcoholism, depression, anxiety, and other indications, could all this just be a coincidence?
When you combine all of the effects which LSD or other psychedelics have been observed to have, in vitro, in animal models, and in patients, they check all the boxes for an attractive multi-target drug candidate with the potential to halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. It was based on this revelation that I decided to found Eleusis, with the mission to develop the full therapeutic potential of psychedelics.
But I read the work of Professor Charles Nichols at Louisiana State University, who found that some psychedelics potently reduced inflammation at levels that would be predicted not to be psychoactive or even perceptible, via activation of the serotonin 2A receptor, which besides being expressed in the brain, is also highly expressed throughout the body. And this got me very excited.
I continued to dig into the literature, and found that the same receptor that mediates the psychoactivity of psychedelics is also implicated in the effects these compounds have in terms of providing protection against oxidative stress, enhancing neuroplasticity, and alleviating depression and anxiety. And because these compounds are anti-inflammatory, they address a constellation of dysregulated functions in aging.
Digging further, I found research indicating that this receptor, if it was engaged by a psychedelic drug, would also reduce the amount of toxic amyloid that was produced in an organism. And I thought that was interesting, because at the time, and certainly for the prior decade, amyloid was the primary target for Alzheimer's disease.
When I put together the entire picture of what psychedelics were doing, it became quite clear that this could be a therapy to modify the course of Alzheimer's disease. LSD in particular seemed like an attractive candidate for such a therapeutic approach, as it is capable of potent and prolonged activation of the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmission receptors implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, and specifically the serotonin 2A receptor.
If you look at the symptoms of Alzheimer's and the disease progression, not only is the loss of 2A receptor expression correlated with cognitive impairment and toxic amyloid burden, but you also have a significant increase in the incidence of depression and anxiety, which are psychiatric conditions known to be significantly influenced by serotonin 2A receptor function.
Given the extensive clinical evidence of LSD’s efficacy in treating alcoholism, depression, anxiety, and other indications, could all this just be a coincidence?
When you combine all of the effects which LSD or other psychedelics have been observed to have, in vitro, in animal models, and in patients, they check all the boxes for an attractive multi-target drug candidate with the potential to halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. It was based on this revelation that I decided to found Eleusis, with the mission to develop the full therapeutic potential of psychedelics.