TDNet Discover

Background: Tryptamines act on the same neurotransmitter as traditional unipolar mood disorder medications, however, they have a different mechanism of action. With refractory cases, traditional medications are not enough to treat these disorders and tryptamines may provide a plausible alternative in treatment. Purpose: Analyze and evaluate the available literature that investigates tryptamine use and efficacy in the management of unipolar mood disorders. Methods: This systematic review analyzed five studies focusing on tryptamines and their use in treatment of unipolar mood disorders and were found utilizing three databases. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were determined prior to the search and duplicates were excluded. A data extraction tool was created by the researchers and implemented on the five articles meeting criteria. The research was given a quality rating as established by the National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute. Results: Across five studies analyzed in this research, each found that patients dosed with psilocybin or lysergic acid diethylene reported increased mood and decreases in their unipolar mood disorder symptomatology. The microdosing amount analyzed in these studies varied greatly as did other forms of treatment being received. Conclusions: It was found that while there is a positive correlation of the utilization of tryptamines in unipolar mood disorder treatment and symptom improvement, more research is needed to determine how to safely implement the compounds in patients’ treatment regiments.