Could A Psychedelic Drug Prevent Asthma?

Researchers are examining the link between a psychedelic drug and it's ability to reduce asthma symptoms in mice. Officials at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine found that the psychedelic drug (R)-DOI, helped prevent the development of allergic asthma in a mouse model.

"These drugs are known only for their effects in the brain," Charles Nichols, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, in a news release. "What we have demonstrated for the first time is that they are also effective in treating physiological diseases outside of the brain, a completely new and exciting role for this class of drug. Not only is this a significant breakthrough in the field of study of serotonin and psychiatric drugs, but it is a breakthrough in the field of asthma as well. We have identified an entirely new anti-inflammatory mechanism for the treatment of asthma in the clinic that could someday be administered in an inhaler or a daily pill."

Researchers found that activation of the serotonin receptor 5-HT24 with psychedelics helped to produce powerful anti-inflammatory activity in blood vessels and the gut.

With this in mind, researchers identified a drug that they believe might be effective against the inflammatory disease asthma. Findings showed that administration of the serotonin receptor blocked pulmoarn inflammation, mucus hyperproduction, airways hyperresponsiveness and turned off certain key genes in the lung involved in immune response that together blocked the development of allergic asthma in their mouse model.

Statistics show that more than 25 million people in the United States are affected by asthma--a chronic lung disease that can inflame and narrow the airways, resulting in wheezing, difficulty breathing and coughing, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. with future research, these findings could mean big changes for the health problem. 

"Overall, given the recent interest and success using these drugs for psychiatric therapies in the clinic, our research at LSU Health New Orleans is the first to show that they have potential to heal the body as well as the mind," concluded Dr. Nichols.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the American Journal of Physiology -- Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.