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By Nancy Lapid, Health Science Editor

Hello Health Rounds readers! The summer of love and the psychedelic era are more than half a century in the past, but researchers today are reporting on the benefits of a staple of those times - the drug in "magic mushrooms" - for treating major depression. We also cover a cautionary report that found, through lab experiments, that dietary supplements containing antioxidants could help promote tumor growth. And we have a study showing that CPAP machines used to help sleep apnea patients breath properly while sleeping may also cut down on acid reflux and related symptoms.

In breaking news, see these stories from our Reuters journalists: Pot firms surge in U.S.; Canada detects first case of highly mutated coronavirus variant BA.2.86; England to rollout world-first seven-minute cancer treatment jab; FDA warns baby formula makers about manufacturing controls; Mitch McConnell 'medically clear' -physician; London NHS workers to strike next month; U.S. health officials may recategorize marijuana as lower-risk; and researchers develop first blood test for Parkinson’s disease.

Psilocybin, a hallucinogenic substance obtained from "magic mushrooms" like the ones shown here, eased symptoms for people with major depression in a mid-stage trial. DEA/Handout via REUTERS 

A single dose of the psychedelic “magic mushroom” drug psilocybin along with psychotherapy produced significant reductions in depressive symptoms and functional disability in patients with major depressive disorder in a small mid-stage trial.

At 11 hospitals, 104 adults were randomly assigned to receive psilocybin or niacin. Psilocybin treatment was associated with significantly reduced scores on measures of depression at day 8 and again at day 43, researchers reported on Thursday in JAMA.

"When a psychedelic is taken with the proper preparation, intention, facilitation, and therapeutic environment, the patient can use the experience to gain new insights that can catalyze healing and recovery,” an editorial published with the study noted.

More participants receiving psilocybin had a sustained response than those receiving niacin, the research team reported. There were no serious treatment-related adverse events, they added.

“The psychedelic allows feelings such as self-compassion, forgiveness, understanding, and self-acceptance to surface that can be powerful antidotes to shame, guilt, anger, isolation, disconnection, or other negative emotions that patients find difficult to discuss in therapy and that do not seem to be mitigated by traditional antidepressants,” the editorial said.

“Despite the enthusiasm, psychedelic therapies do not represent a panacea for every patient," it cautioned.

"There are a significant number of patients who did not respond to therapy," it noted. "Future studies will help identify who is most likely to benefit from psychedelics ...  and what the optimal dose and therapeutic frameworks are.”

Read more about psilocybin on Reuters.com

• Washington Psilocybin Services Act: a magical legislative solution for promoting benefits of psychedelic drugs

Dietary supplements containing antioxidants can stimulate the formation of new blood vessels in tumors that help them grow and spread, researchers reported following lab experiments. 

Antioxidants help to stabilize highly reactive molecules in the body that can damage DNA, sometimes causing mutations that increase the risk of cancer and other diseases.

By stabilizing these molecules, called free-radicals, antioxidants like vitamins C and E increase the amount of usable oxygen in the body. Previously, it was believed that increasing oxygen levels protected against the growth of new blood vessels in tumors – a process known as angiogenesis.

Researchers have now discovered that tumors can form new blood vessels in the presence of normal oxygen levels as well.

In lab experiments with simulated lung tumors, they found that when antioxidants reduce levels of free radicals, thereby increasing oxygen availability, one result is activation of a protein called BACH1 that induces angiogenesis, they reported on Thursday in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Further experiments with human breast and kidney tumors showed new blood vessel formation resulting from antioxidant use could be limited by angiogenesis inhibiting drugs.

“Our study opens the door to more effective ways of preventing angiogenesis in tumors," study coauthor Ting Wang of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden said in a statement. "For example, patients whose tumors exhibit high levels of BACH1 might benefit more from anti-angiogenesis therapy than patients with low BACH1 levels."

Study leader Martin Bergo of Karolinska Institutet said there is no need to worry about antioxidants in normal food.  "But most people don’t need additional amounts of them. In fact, (antioxidant supplements) can be harmful for cancer patients and people with an elevated cancer risk.”

People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who used machines while sleeping to keep their airways open and help them breathe also experienced improvements in heartburn and acid reflux in a recent study.

OSA causes interrupted breathing during the night and can lead to serious health problems. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines blow air into the airway via a face mask to prevent it from closing while asleep. 

By keeping the airway open, CPAP also helps the valve between the stomach and the esophagus, or food pipe, stay closed and prevents stomach acid from leaking, according to a report published on Wednesday in ERJ Open Research.

Researchers tracked 102 newly diagnosed sleep apnea patients who reported nighttime gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, including heartburn, coughing, and wheezing.

Forty-three were “full” CPAP users, meaning they used the machines for more than four hours per night on more than 20 days per month.

Two years later, only six of the 43 still reported gastroesophageal reflux symptoms. After accounting for participants’ other risk factors, full CPAP use was associated with a 42% reduction in risk for persistent nighttime gastroesophageal reflux, researchers said.

“People with obstructive sleep apnea are three times more likely to suffer regularly with night-time heartburn,” study leader Thorarinn Gislason of Landspitali, the National University Hospital of Iceland in Reykjavik, said in a statement. “Respiratory symptoms, such as coughing and wheezing, are also more common.”

The paper points out that respiratory symptoms in OSA may be at least partly related to gastroesophageal reflux, which can cause airway irritation when the stomach’s acid moves up to the throat.

“This study suggests that coughing and wheezing that do not get better with the usual treatments and night-time reflux should also be considered as possible signs of OSA that may require CPAP treatment,” Gislason said.

This newsletter was edited by Bill Berkrot. Additional reporting by Shawana Alleyne-Morris.

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