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PHASE2RECRUITING
View on ClinicalTrials.gov

Comparing Psilocybin with Microcrystalline cellulose for depressive disorder

Official title: A Randomized Neuroimaging Trial of Psilocybin in Depression

Engaging Mood Brain Circuits With Psilocybin: a Randomized Neuroimaging Trial in Depression

Condition: Depressive DisorderSponsor: Sunnybrook Health Sciences CentreTarget enrollment: 50

Interventions

DRUG

Psilocybin

Psilocybin (\[3-\[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl\]-1H-indol-4-yl\] dihydrogen phosphate), 25mg PO.

OTHER

Microcrystalline cellulose

MCC (excipient), 25mg PO.

BEHAVIORAL

Supportive psychotherapy

Supportive psychotherapy in the form of reassurance, integration, and de-escalatory techniques (if needed). Facilitating rapport and a positive environment.

Canadian Sites (1)

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

RECRUITING

Eligibility Criteria

See who this study is looking for31 criteria

The trial’s own eligibility text, word for word from the registry. Only the trial site can say who takes part.

Inclusion

  • +Able and voluntarily willing to provide written informed consentInformed consentThe process of being told what taking part involves, then choosing freely.Read more → at the screening visitScreeningThe checks done before joining, to see whether a study fits.Read more →
  • +Over 18 and under 65 years old
  • +Able to complete all protocolProtocolThe detailed plan a study must follow.Read more → required assessment tools without any assistance or alteration to the copyrighted assessments, and to comply with all study visits
  • +Must have a responsible individual/caregiver who is able to monitor the participant at home for 24 hours after each treatment visit in the study
  • +Must have a psychiatrist and/or general practitioner who is able to provide psychiatric follow-upFollow-upContinued check-ins after the treatment part is finished.Read more → care
  • +Have a Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) confirmed diagnosis of MDD, recurrent or single episode without psychotic features where the duration of the current episode is at least 3 months
  • +Depression of at least moderate severity as defined by a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) score \>17

Exclusion

  • Current or past history of bipolar I/II disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, psychotic disorder, or delusional disorder as assessed by a structured clinical interview (MINI)
  • A clinical diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder and/or paranoid personality disorder (defined as meeting DSM-5 criteria) based on clinical interview and the MINI 7.0. Positive diagnoses on the MINI will be subject to confirmation at a clinical interview by a psychiatrist.
  • An active clinical diagnosis of borderline personality disorder as confirmed by the MINI 7.0.
  • Depression secondary to other medical conditions or bipolar I and II disorder
  • Family history of a first degree relative with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or a primary psychotic disorder and/or bipolar disorder
  • Any symptoms consistent with psychosis
  • Any symptoms consistent with hypomania and/or mania as assessed by a psychiatrist
  • Personal history of ≥ 1 suicide attempt in the past year requiring hospitalization, defined using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSRS) (Q6 (past year) = "y") and clinical interview with a psychiatrist
  • Other personal circumstances or behavior judged to be incompatible with establishment of rapport or safe exposure to psilocybin
  • Lifetime history of substance use disorder with a hallucinogen
  • Lifetime history of substance-induced psychosis
  • Positive urine drug screen for illicit drugs or drugs of abuse at screeningScreeningThe checks done before joining, to see whether a study fits.Read more →, a week prior to treatment, and during the trial (any positive urine drug test will be reviewed with participants to determine the pattern of use and eligibilityEligibility criteriaThe full list of requirements for taking part in a study.Read more → will be determined at the investigatorPrincipal investigatorThe doctor or researcher responsible for running the study at a site.Read more →'s discretion)
  • Abnormal and clinically significant results on a physical examination performed within one month of study participation by a general practitioner, vital signs, ECG, or laboratory test at screening
  • QTc prolongation on ECG
  • Uncontrolled or insulin-dependent diabetes
  • History of seizure disorder except for seizures from electroconvulsive therapy and/or febrile seizures in childhood
  • Diagnosis of any mild or major neurocognitive disorder meeting DSM-5 criteria and based on clinical interview/cognitive screening by a psychiatrist
  • History of stroke, recent myocardial infarction (\< 1 year from signing of ICFInformed consentThe process of being told what taking part involves, then choosing freely.Read more →), uncontrolled hypertension (blood pressure \> 140/90 mmHg) or clinically significant arrhythmia within 1 year of signing the ICF
  • Any other clinically significant cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, hepatic, renal or any other major concurrent illness that, in the opinion of the investigator, may interfere with the interpretation of the study results or constitute a health risk for the participant if he/she takes part in the study
  • Exposure to psilocybin or any other psychedelic in the past 12 months prior to screening and/or during the current MDE and use of psychedelics, such as ayahuasca/LSD, during the current depressive episode
  • History of substance use and/or alcohol use disorder, of moderate severity or greater, in the past 12 months
  • Current enrolmentEnrolmentThe number of participants a study plans to include, or has included.Read more → in an interventional studyInterventional studyA study where participants are given something to see what happens.Read more → for depression or participation in such within 30 days of screening
  • Serial blood counts to achieve a value to meet eligibility - abnormalities in screening/baselineBaselineYour starting measurements, taken before treatment begins.Read more → blood work (complete blood counts, electrolyte panel, etc.) will be reviewed by MD, then repeated serially until abnormalities resolve.
  • Women who are pregnant (self-report or via urine test), nursing, or planning a pregnancy
5 concepts to explore on this page · up to 1,300 pointsTap any term to learn what it means.

In plain language

Assembled directly from this trial’s registry record. Every sentence traces to a field below — nothing here is generated or interpreted.

Learning 
What this study is

This study is investigating how something functions in the body, rather than testing a treatment directly.

Phase 2Phase 2A middle-stage study looking at what a treatment does and watching for side effects.Read more → — a middle-stage study in a few hundred people at most, looking at what the treatment does and watching for side effectsSide effectAn unwanted effect thought to be caused by the treatment itself.Read more →.

What is being given or done in this study: Psilocybin, Microcrystalline cellulose, Supportive psychotherapy.

From the trial registry

Built from these fields:

  • designModule.designInfo.primaryPurpose
  • designModule.phases
  • armsInterventionsModule.interventions[].name
How the study is run

Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.

You, the study team, the people giving the treatment, and the people analysing the results would all be kept unaware of which group you are in until the study ends.

From the trial registry

Built from these fields:

  • designModule.designInfo.allocation
  • designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
Is there a placebo?

This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.

There are 2 groups in this study.

From the trial registry

Built from this field:

  • armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Who the study is looking for

The study lists an age range of 18 years to 64 years.

The study is open to people of any sex.

The study does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.

These are the criteria the study lists. Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part.

From the trial registry

Built from these fields:

  • eligibilityModule.minimumAge
  • eligibilityModule.maximumAge
  • eligibilityModule.sex
  • eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How big and how long

The study aims to enrol about 50 people.

The study is currently expected to finish around May 2029.

The main measurement is taken over: Up to 3 weeks.

From the trial registry

Built from these fields:

  • designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
  • statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
  • outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
What the study measures

Regional Cerebral Blood Flow — measured over Up to 3 weeks.

Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) Changes — measured over Up to 6 weeks.

From the trial registry

Built from these fields:

  • outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].measure
  • outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame

Source: NCT06072898 on ClinicalTrials.gov. The full registry text is further down this page — this summary never replaces it.

Not medical advice. What do these terms mean?

What is being tested — in plain terms

About PsilocybinDrug

Psilocybin (\[3-\[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl\]-1H-indol-4-yl\] dihydrogen phosphate), 25mg PO.

From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.

What a drug is here: A medicine — a chemical or small-molecule treatment — given as the thing being studied.

Read the full explanation → · in clinical review

About Microcrystalline celluloseOther

MCC (excipient), 25mg PO.

From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.

What a other is here: An intervention the registry did not place in another category.

Read the full explanation → · in clinical review

About Supportive psychotherapyBehavioural

Supportive psychotherapy in the form of reassurance, integration, and de-escalatory techniques (if needed). Facilitating rapport and a positive environment.

From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.

What a behavioural is here: A programme, therapy, education, or lifestyle approach being studied.

Read the full explanation → · in clinical review

Common questions

Answered from this trial’s registry record. Where the record doesn’t say, these answers say so rather than filling the gap.

Am I eligible for this trial?

Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part. Concord cannot make that determination, and neither can any tool that has not examined you.

What the study lists: an age range of 18 years to 64 years.

The full inclusionInclusion criteriaThe things you must have or be for a study to consider you.Read more → and exclusion criteriaExclusion criteriaThe things that would prevent someone from taking part.Read more → are published on this page, exactly as the study team wrote them.

The useful next step is to bring this trial to your doctor. Answering a few questions first gives them something concrete to review.

From the trial registry
  • eligibilityModule.minimumAge
  • eligibilityModule.maximumAge
  • eligibilityModule.eligibilityCriteria
Is there a placebo?

This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.

From the trial registry
  • armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Would I know which treatment I am getting?

You, the study team, the people giving the treatment, and the people analysing the results would all be kept unaware of which group you are in until the study ends.

Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.

From the trial registry
  • designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
  • designModule.designInfo.allocation
Who can join?

The study lists an age range of 18 years to 64 years.

It is open to people of any sex.

It does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.

Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can confirm whether a particular person can take part.

From the trial registry
  • eligibilityModule.minimumAge
  • eligibilityModule.maximumAge
  • eligibilityModule.sex
  • eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How long would this take?

The study's main measurement is taken over: Up to 3 weeks.

The study as a whole is currently expected to finish around 2029-05.

How long any one person takes part can differ from the study length. The study team can tell you what the schedule looks like in practice.

From the trial registry
  • outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
  • statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
How many people are taking part?

The study aims to enrol about 50 people.

From the trial registry
  • designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
Where is this happening?

This study lists one location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sites can open and close during a study, so confirm with the team before travelling.

From the trial registry
  • trial_locations

About This Trial

The goal of this neuroimaging clinical trial is to test whether psilocybin produces significant immediate changes in functional brain activity in networks associated with mood regulation and depression compared to placebo in patients with depression. The trial aims to determine if psilocybin: 1. Changes connectivity within brain networks associated with mood and depression 2. Changes blood flow in brain regions associated with mood and depression Participants will be attend two treatment sessions where they receive an oral medication and supportive psychotherapy. At each session, participants will undergo an MRI scan after drug administration but prior to psychotherapy. Participants will be randomly to assigned to one of two groups that will receive, 1) microcrystalline cellulose (25mg) at the first visit and psilocybin (25mg) at the second visit, or 2) psilocybin (25mg) at both visits, respectively. Differences between groups will be compared to understand what effects on brain activity are specific to psilocybin.

Worth passing on?

Save it to the Care Package and send it to them, or to their doctor, in one message. Whether they follow it up is theirs to decide.

Review the Care Package

This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Clinical trial eligibility can only be determined by the trial site after proper screening. Trial information is sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the most current status. Always consult your healthcare provider before making decisions about clinical trial participation.