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Psilocybin in Palliative Care: An Update.

Emily WhinkinMoira OpalkaConor WattersAtara JaffeSunil Aggarwal
Published in: Current geriatrics reports (2023)
While more research is needed for palliative care populations specifically, reasonable inferences can be made regarding the potential for benefit to palliative care patients from psilocybin's demonstrated anxiolytic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory and entheogenic effects. However, major legal, ethical and financial barriers to access exist for the general population; obstacles which are likely worsened for geriatric and palliative care patients. Empiric treatment and large-scale controlled trials of psilocybin should be conducted to further investigate the findings of the smaller studies reviewed here across a variety of populations, for a greater understanding of therapeutic benefit and clinically relevant safety criteria, and to support thoughtful legalization and medical access.
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