Psychedelic substance psilocybin prevents severe nerve damage caused by chemotherapy. A new study published in the scientific journal Science shows that the compound can prevent the development of peripheral neuropathy. Chemotherapy-induced neuropathy causes pain, numbness, sensitivity to cold, and loss of sensation in patients. These symptoms can persist even after treatment ends and are often irreversible.
Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center conducted the experiment in mice. Two doses of psilocybin administered before chemotherapy prevented the animals from developing heightened sensitivity to cold, protected sensory nerve endings, and preserved their sense of touch. Notably, the psychedelic substance did not negatively affect chemotherapy’s primary antitumor activity.
The scientists also identified the precise mechanism behind the compound’s effects. Psilocybin acts on the peripheral nervous system through serotonin 5-HT2A receptors. When researchers artificially blocked this pathway, the substance lost its protective effect. The experiment also revealed that psilocybin protects the mitochondria of nerve cells — their main “energy factories” — from the damaging effects of chemotherapy drugs.
Another interesting finding concerns a non-hallucinogenic alternative. Another non-psychoactive compound that acts on the same receptors protected the nervous system in a similar way to psilocybin. According to the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Moran Amit, medicine urgently needs treatments that do not interfere with life-saving chemotherapy while preventing nerve damage. He said the new discovery offers patients not treatment for nerves that have already been damaged, but prevention of the damage itself.
Based on the laboratory experiments, the researchers are now moving toward the next stage of clinical testing. The new study will investigate the effects of psilocybin alongside chemotherapy in patients with different types of cancer. The trial will ultimately determine how effectively the mechanism identified in the laboratory can protect the human peripheral nervous system from severe clinical damage.
