Overview
- Imperial College London’s randomized, placebo-controlled study (n=34) tested a 21.5 mg intravenous DMT infusion over 10 minutes delivered with structured psychotherapeutic support and was published in Nature Medicine.
- DMT produced significantly greater reductions in Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores at two weeks versus placebo, with early improvements by one week and exploratory links between benefit and the intensity of the psychedelic experience.
- Group-level gains persisted through three months, with some participants reporting benefits to six months, and an open-label second dose conferred no clear additional advantage over a single dose.
- The regimen was generally well tolerated with no serious adverse events, and transient increases in heart rate and blood pressure alongside mostly mild-to-moderate effects such as injection-site pain, anxiety, insomnia, headache, and restlessness.
- Investigators highlight limitations including the small, largely White and male sample, potential functional unblinding, and exclusion of people with serious suicide attempts, and they call for larger, longer, comparative trials in a strict regulatory environment for DMT.