Prospective associations of psychedelic treatment for co-occurring alcohol misuse and posttraumatic stress symptoms among United States Special Operations Forces Veterans.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Uncontrolled prospective observational cohort study
PubMed 38377244 · doi:10.1080/08995605.2022.2156200
What was done
Prospective observational study evaluating outcomes among 45 United States Special Operations Forces Veterans with baseline risky alcohol use (mean age 44 years, 100% male, 91% White; subgroup from 86 total program completers) who underwent clinical treatment with sequential ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT at a clinic in Mexico. Assessments were completed at pre-treatment, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months post-treatment.
What was found
Alcohol use scores significantly decreased from pre-treatment (mean = 7.2, SD = 2.3) to 1 month (mean = 3.6, SD = 3.5) and remained reduced at 6 months (mean = 4.0, SD = 2.9; p < .001, partial eta squared = .617). At 1 month, 24% were abstinent, 33% reported non-risky drinking, and 42% reported risky drinking. At 6 months, 16% were abstinent, 31% reported non-risky drinking, and 53% reported risky drinking. Responders (abstinent/non-risky drinkers) showed significantly greater improvements than non-responders in PTSD symptoms (p < .01, d = -3.26) and cognitive functioning (p < .01, d = -0.99).
Why it matters
Provides preliminary naturalistic evidence that combined ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT protocols may reduce heavy drinking while concurrently improving comorbid trauma symptoms in combat veterans.
Limits
Uncontrolled open-label design with no comparator group, precluding attribution to the drugs versus expectancy, placebo, or setting effects. Small sample size (n = 45) restricted entirely to male military veterans, limiting generalizability. Alcohol consumption and clinical symptoms were self-reported without biological verification, and the dual-intervention protocol prevents isolating the effects of ibogaine from 5-MeO-DMT.
Cited by
- partial Medically supervised use of ibogaine can successfully treat addiction and PTSD in veterans.