SCIENCE LAB SURPRISE : PSYCHEDELIC PAINKILLERS

MAGIC mushrooms may prevent nerve damage caused by chemotherapy.

Can psilocybin the hallucinogenic compound also known as magic mushrooms, inoculate cancer patients against the debilitating nerve damage caused by chemotherapy?

At first blush, such an outcome seems like magical thinking.

But a study published in the journal Science makes the case that psilocybin may prevent the peripheral neuropathy affecting about a two-thirds of chemo patients.

The scientists studied mice, but the results are so promising that human trials are beginning this month.  If successful, the treatment could revolutionize cancer therapy and improve the quality of life for millions.

There are no effective treatments for neuropathy, which causes pain, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet, and can force patients to scale back or halt chemotherapy when the discomfort becomes too much to bear.

The study by a team of doctors and researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, found that lab mice given two doses of psilocybin before receiving chemotherapy were shielded from nerve damage.

The Research Publishing continues to Part [2]. !WOW! thanks Andrew Jacobs.