Scientists have been experimenting with finding new medical uses for psychedelics for a while now, and in many cases, have reported success. Some lawmakers are fighting to have access to the drugs expanded for veterans in a still ongoing battle. Turns out, psilocybin—a compound found in magic mushrooms—may have another positive effect on health: anti-aging. A new Emory University study suggests that psilocybin may be able to increase lifespan.
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Social media shows that many young people are terrified of getting older. For Americans, the apprehension makes sense: the U.S. life expectancy is only 78.4 years, compared to 82.5 years in other countries with similar incomes and sizes.
Shockingly, ‘shrooms may be the answer to get our numbers up.
Emory scientists treated aged female mice with psilocybin or vehicle once a month for 10 months. The 19-month old mice (equivalent to about 65 human years) were first given 5mg and then 15mg for the remaining nine treatments. The mice who were given psilocybin survived at an 80 percent rate, while only half of the vehicle group lived through the study. Scientists also reported that the psilocybin group’s fur quality increased—the hair grew, and white hairs decreased.
A subsequent part of the study used human fetal lung fibroblasts to test whether or not psilocybin had similarly positive effects on cellular aging. Turns out it does: they serially passaged the cells with either vehicle or psilocin (the active metabolite of psilocybin) and found that the psychedelic treatment resulted in a 29 percent increase in cellular lifespan. When they used a higher dose, that number shot up to 57 percent.
When the study was repeated with adult human skin fibroblasts, the results were validated—the psilocin increased cellular lifespan by 51 percent.
“This study provides strong preclinical evidence that psilocybin may contribute to healthier aging — not just a longer lifespan, but a better quality of life in later years,” said Ali John Zarrabi, MD, the director of psychedelic research at Emory’s Department of Psychiatry, in the university’s press release.
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Psychedelic research has often been limited to mental effects, but this study shows the potential for the field to improve the physical conditions of users. Hopefully, these findings will encourage governments to consider legalization, or at least decriminalization.