Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
1 paper
Researchers are finding several promising ways to reduce anxiety and worry. The strongest and most consistent clinical results so far come from giving psychedelic or fast‑acting drugs together with careful psychotherapy. Ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin show the quickest and clearest positive results in trials for related problems. Non‑drug approaches like talking therapies and physical activity also help and have longer histories of evidence. At the same time, many drug studies are still small, early‑stage, or done in narrowly selected groups. Important factors that shape outcomes include how the drug is given, the therapy around it, and safety monitoring. There are real risks and unanswered questions, so scientists say more large, diverse, and carefully run trials are needed before these treatments become routine.
Researchers pooled results from 29 human studies that measured blood levels of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, after people received so-called psychoplastogen drugs such as ketamine or psychedelics. They found no clear change in blood BDNF after these drugs. The authors say this does not prove the…
