Mushroom

London: A psychedelic compound found in psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms, can help to "open up" depressed people's brains, enabling brain regions to talk more freely to one another, finds a study. Psilocybin is one of a number of psychedelics being explored as a potential therapy for psychiatric disorders. Several studies have trialled a synthesised form of the drug to treat patients with depression and anxiety, with promising results. A team at Imperial College London's Centre for Psychedelic Research believes to have untangled how psilocybin exerts its therapeutic effects on the brain. The new results, taken from two combined studies including about 60 adults, reveal that people who responded to psilocybin-assisted therapy showed increased brain connectivity not just during their treatment, but up to three weeks afterwards. This "opening up" effect was associated with self-reported improvements in their depression. However, similar changes in brain connectivity were not seen in those treated with a conventional antidepressant (called escitalopram), suggesting the psychedelic works differently in treating depression. According to the team, the findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, are a promising advance for psilocybin therapy, with the effects replicated across two studies. They explain that patterns of brain activity in depression can become rigid and restricted, and that psilocybin could potentially help the brain to break out of this rut in a way that traditional therapies cannot. "The effect seen with psilocybin is consistent across two studies, related to people getting better, and was not seen with a conventional antidepressant," said Professor Robin Carhart-Harris, from University of California, San Francisco. "In previous studies we had seen a similar effect in the brain when people were scanned whilst on a psychedelic, but here we're seeing it weeks after treatment for depression, which suggests a acarry over' of the acute drug action," Carhart-Harris, who was former Head of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research. The researchers added that while follow-up data is still being analysed for participants, initial changes in brain activity one day following treatment were a good predictor of whether a person would still show improvement at six months. However, they cautioned that patients with depression should not attempt to self-medicate with psilocybin, as taking magic mushrooms or psilocybin in the absence of safeguards may not have a positive outcome. (Agency) Read More► Drinking Coffee Could Benefit Heart, Help You Live Longer: Study

New York, Adding a mushroom serving to the diet can increase the intake of several micronutrients, including shortfall nutrients such as vitamin D, without any increase in calories, sodium or fat, a new study suggests. The findings indicated that adding an 84 grams serving of mushrooms increased several shortfall nutrients including potassium and fiber. This was true for the white, crimini and portabella 1:1:1 mix and oyster mushrooms. "This research validated what we already knew that adding mushrooms to your plate is an effective way to reach the dietary goals identified by the DGA," said Mary Jo Feeney, nutrition research coordinator to the Mushroom Council in the US, who funded the study. For the study, published in the journal Food Science and Nutrition, the team modeled the addition of mushrooms to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2016 dietary data. The team looked at a composite of white, crimini and portabella mushrooms at a 1:1:1 ratio; one scenario including UV-light exposed mushrooms; and one scenario including oyster mushrooms for both 9 to 18 years and more than 19 years of age based on an 84g or half cup equivalent serving. The addition a serving of 84 grams of mushrooms to the diet resulted in an increase in dietary fiber (5 per cent-6 per cent), copper (24 per cent-32 per cent), phosphorus (6 per cent), potassium (12 per cent-14 per cent), selenium (13 per cent-14 per cent). It also showed increase in zinc (5 per cent-6 per cent), riboflavin (13 per cent-15 per cent), niacin (13 per cent-14 per cent), and choline (5 per cent-6 per cent) in both adolescents and adults; but had no impact on calories, carbohydrate, fat or sodium. A serving of UV-light exposed commonly consumed mushrooms decreased population inadequacy for vitamin D from 95.3 per cent to 52.8 per cent for age group 9-18 years and from 94.9 per cent to 63.6 per cent for age group more than 19 years.  (IANS)