New ayahuasca article published in nature.com

[Loveall]

Not sure if this has been brought up already (if so sorry), new nature article (Nov 9th 2017),

Well-being, problematic alcohol consumption and acute subjective drug effects in past-year ayahuasca users: a large, international, self-selecting online survey - Scientific Reports

Ayahuasca is a natural psychedelic brew, which contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Its potential as a psychiatric medicine has recently been demonstrated and its non-medical use around the world appears to be growing. We aimed to investigate well-being and problematic alcohol use in ayahuasca...

www.nature.com

Study looks at the benefits of Ayahuasca and compares it to other pshychedelics using survey data. As I understand, it the article seems to suggest that Ayahuasca could be more beneficial in curving alcohol abuse and more research is needed.

 

[RhythmSpring]

Another vastly unsurprising study on psychedelics.

 

[Mindlusion]

It is however, published in Nature. Which is something to remark, as it is one of the largest and most prestigious journals (only publishing research they deem top quality).

 

[pitubo]

Really? Nature suggests that us psychedelics users are a bunch of drunks...

Ayahuasca users reported less problematic drinking than classic psychedelic users, although both groups reported greater problematic drinking than the other respondents.

On a positive note, alcohol is finally admitted to be a "psychoactive drug":

During cleaning of the data, 3,817 records were excluded due to data capture glitches, duplicate entries, reporting no psychoactive drug use at all (including alcohol), reporting the use of a fake drug, ..

And Albert Hofmann's final thoughts were not admissible:

.. and being 100 years of age or over.

I say this report is a mixed bag.

 

[Loveall]

Pitubo, that is a good point. However, reading on the University website press release the tone is a little different,

Featured news - Traditional Amazonian drug linked to improved sense of wellbeing - University of Exeter

www.exeter.ac.uk

Maybe there was a suggestion from editors to tone down the positive observations? This is pure speculation on my part and not worth much though.

The most concerning item they bring up (mental health) did not show up for native users which they point out. To me this means that folks with problems may seek this help outside their country, biassing the sample where there is no true cause and effect, instead showing that some patients look for a natural remedy beyond Western medicine? (always seek professional health first). Again, this is only more speculation on my part.

In my particular case I essentially dropped alcohol after fining our natural medicines. Have not had a toxic ethanol hangover in years: only pleasant mind refreshing afterglows.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

That's exactly what I thought about the alcohol use - self selection bias. And alcohol is a 'gateway drug' after all, meaning non-drinkers would be less likely to engage in any form of (commonly perceived?) drug use.

 

[tregar]

Great article, thanks Loveall

Nature, July 2017:

The alkaloids of Banisteriopsis caapi, the plant source of the Amazonian hallucinogen Ayahuasca, stimulate adult neurogenesis in vitro

Jose A. Morales-García, Mario de la Fuente Revenga, Sandra Alonso-Gil, María Isabel Rodríguez-Franco, Amanda Feilding, Ana Perez-Castillo & Jordi Riba

The alkaloids of Banisteriopsis caapi, the plant source of the Amazonian hallucinogen Ayahuasca, stimulate adult neurogenesis in vitro - Scientific Reports

Banisteriopsis caapi is the basic ingredient of ayahuasca, a psychotropic plant tea used in the Amazon for ritual and medicinal purposes, and by interested individuals worldwide. Animal studies and recent clinical research suggests that B. caapi preparations show antidepressant activity, a...

www.nature.com

From the article as well (besides growing brain cells):

Two recent studies found that a single dose of ayahuasca rapidly reduced depressive symptoms in treatment-resistant patients. 11, 12. Remarkably, clinical improvement was maintained for up to three weeks.