Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries

Summary & key facts

Researchers treated 30 male Special Operations veterans who had mostly mild traumatic brain injuries with a program that combined the plant compound ibogaine and magnesium plus other therapies. They measured how people were doing before treatment, right after, and one month later. The group showed clear improvements in daily functioning immediately and larger gains one month later, with big reductions in symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety at one month. There were no unexpected or serious side effects in this group, but the study did not have a control group, so bigger controlled trials are needed to confirm the results and safety.

Key facts:

• Thirty male Special Operations veterans with mostly mild traumatic brain injury took part in the study.
• The treatment combined ibogaine (a plant-derived compound) with magnesium and other supportive therapies.
• Researchers measured disability and psychiatric symptoms before treatment, right after treatment, and one month later.
• Daily functioning improved right after treatment and improved even more one month later.
• One month after treatment, the group showed large reductions in post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, and anxiety.
• The study reported no unexpected or serious adverse events in these 30 men, but ibogaine has been linked to dangerous heart rhythm problems in other reports and magnesium was given to try to lower that risk; the authors say controlled clinical trials are needed to check safety and whether the treatment really works.

Abstract

Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability. Sequelae can include functional impairments and psychiatric syndromes such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. Special Operations Forces (SOF) veterans (SOVs) may be at an elevated risk for these complications, leading some to seek underexplored treatment alternatives such as the oneirogen ibogaine, a plant-derived compound known to interact with multiple neurotransmitter systems that has been studied primarily as a treatment for substance use disorders. Ibogaine has been associated with instances of fatal cardiac arrhythmia, but coadministration of magnesium may mitigate this concern. In the present study, we report a prospective observational study of the Magnesium–Ibogaine: the Stanford Traumatic Injury to the CNS protocol (MISTIC), provided together with complementary treatment modalities, in 30 male SOVs with predominantly mild TBI. We assessed changes in the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule from baseline to immediately (primary outcome) and 1 month (secondary outcome) after treatment. Additional secondary outcomes included changes in PTSD (Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5), depression (Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale) and anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale). MISTIC resulted in significant improvements in functioning both immediately ( P corrected < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.74) and 1 month ( P corrected < 0.001, d = 2.20) after treatment and in PTSD ( P corrected < 0.001, d = 2.54), depression ( P corrected < 0.001, d = 2.80) and anxiety ( P corrected < 0.001, d = 2.13) at 1 month after treatment. There were no unexpected or serious adverse events. Controlled clinical trials to assess safety and efficacy are needed to validate these initial open-label findings. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT04313712 .

Topics

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Study Psychedelics and Drug Studies Treatment of Major Depression

Categories

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology Life Sciences Molecular Biology

Tags

Anxiety Depression (economics) Economics Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale Internal medicine Macroeconomics Medicine Psychiatry Psychology Traumatic brain injury

Substances

Ibogaine

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Depression PTSD Anxiety or worry Difficulty focusing Poor sleep Sadness or low mood