Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries
Summary & key facts
Researchers gave a combined magnesium and ibogaine treatment, plus other supportive care, to 30 male Special Operations veterans who had mostly mild traumatic brain injuries. They measured how well the men were functioning right after treatment and again one month later. On average, the men showed noticeable improvements in daily functioning and in symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety. The treatment had no unexpected serious harms in this small study, but the study was not a controlled trial, so bigger and stricter studies are needed before we can know if the treatment really works or is safe for most people.
- The study treated 30 men who were Special Operations Forces veterans with mostly mild traumatic brain injuries.
- Treatment combined ibogaine, a plant-derived psychoactive compound, with magnesium and other supportive therapies.
- Researchers measured functioning right after treatment and again one month later.
- On average, participants showed meaningful improvements in daily functioning both right after treatment and one month later.
- One month after treatment, symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety were notably lower on average.
- The researchers reported no unexpected or serious adverse events in these 30 participants.
- Ibogaine has been linked before to rare but serious heart rhythm problems, and the study used magnesium because it might reduce that risk.
- This was an open-label, observational study without a control group, so the findings need confirmation in larger, controlled trials before we can be sure the treatment is effective or safe for others.
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 .
