Psychedelic Therapy vs Antidepressants for the Treatment of Depression Under Equal Unblinding Conditions

How does psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) compare with open-label traditional antidepressants (TADs) in the treatment of major depression?This meta-analysis of 24 trials found no statistically significant difference in patient improvement following PAT or open-label TADs. Open-label trials were associated with slightly greater patient improvement for antidepressants, but the same difference was not observed for psychedelics.These findings suggest that PAT is no more effective than TADs under equal-unblinding conditions for the treatment of depression and highlight the potential role of blinding integrity.

Corresponding Author: Balázs Szigeti, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, 675 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94107 (balazs.szigeti@ucsf.edu).

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