Explore / Peer-reviewed article
Peer-reviewed articleOpen access

Psilocybin Therapy of Psychiatric Disorders Is Not Hampered by hERG Potassium Channel-Mediated Cardiotoxicity.

Hackl BiD, Todt H, Kubista HiD, Kubista HiD, Hilber KiD, Koenig XiD

The international journal of neuropsychopharmacologyApr 1, 2022License: open accessAustria9 citationsDOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyab085

Abstract

Psilocybin, a hallucinogen contained in "magic" mushrooms, holds great promise for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders, and early clinical trials are encouraging. Adverse cardiac events after intake of high doses of psilocybin and a trial reporting QT interval prolongation in the electrocardiogram attributed to the drug's main metabolite, psilocin, gave rise to safety concerns. Here we show that clinical concentrations of psilocin do not cause significant human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) potassium channel inhibition, a major risk factor for adverse cardiac events. We conclude that hERG channel blockage by psilocin is not liable for psilocybin- associated cardiotoxic effects.

Topics & conditions

Detected automatically by Psychedelic Commons from the title and abstract, not labels from the source. They may be incomplete.

Psilocybin

Psychedelic Commons aggregates metadata from open sources and links back to the original. Rights remain with the authors and publishers. Something wrong with this record? Report a problem.