5g Psilocybin Dose Spurs Brief Gains in Woman With Advanced Alzheimer’s
Updated
Updated · The Conversation · Jun 12
5g Psilocybin Dose Spurs Brief Gains in Woman With Advanced Alzheimer’s
3 articles · Updated · The Conversation · Jun 12
Summary
A woman in her 80s with advanced Alzheimer’s began speaking spontaneously and recalling personal memories about 19 hours after taking 5g of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, according to a single-patient report.
Caregivers said she was more alert over the following days and weeks, recognized family, walked more independently, dressed herself and regained urinary continence; a second supervised 3g session a month later again appeared to improve expression and agility.
The report does not show psilocybin reversed Alzheimer’s: it involved one patient, lacked biomarkers, brain scans, standardized cognitive testing and a comparison group, and relied largely on caregiver and family observations.
Researchers say psilocybin may have temporarily changed communication in surviving brain networks rather than the disease itself, but they stress older adults face risks and that only controlled studies can test whether the effect is real or reproducible.