Depressive disorders: Definition, epidemiology, signs symptoms

Depressive disorders are characterized by episodes of sadness, anger, or other emotions that can alter the patient’s regular activities related to his life or profession. According to the reports from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, about 8.1% of adults in the U.S.A suffered from depression in the period of 2013 to 2016. Depression has different clinical presentations on different persons. Major symptoms include uncontrollable anger, restlessness, anxiousness, loss of interest, reduced cognitive abilities, insomnia, etc. In short, depression is indeed a serious disorder that requires careful attention, pharmacologically or non-pharmacologically.

What Are Psychedelics Drugs?

Psychedelics are a classification of hallucinogenic drugs that can trigger another level of consciousness, often called psychedelic experiences. Most of them fall under the three families of compounds: phenethylamines, lysergamides, or tryptamines. Researches show that these drugs are safe for use and do not lead to much addiction. Therefore, psychedelic stocks are used by certain companies for their recreational purposes. One such leading company is the Bright Minds Bio, which uses psychedelics for their therapeutic action, especially for people with major depressive disorder.

Can psychedelics be used to cure depression?

Psilocybin is one of the major psychedelic compounds which is found in magic mushrooms. The connection lies in the serotonergic pathogenesis of depression. Serotonin is the ‘Happy hormone’ or the hormone responsible for keeping your mood pleasant, wherein depression the opposite happens. So, if serotonin agonism is accelerated, then it can be used to cure depression. This is the rationale for psychedelics being used by the company. The company uses its action of 5HT2A receptors. The existing disadvantage of the same was that it acts on both 5HT2A and 5HT2B receptors. Bright MInds Biosciences design helps to target onto 5HT2A and 2C receptors, thereby accelerating the action and producing the required therapeutic effect.

Relevance of Bright Minds Bioscience in this situation

Bright Minds Bioscience includes a team of eminent scientists who study the serotonergic system and their actions to know the pharmacological actions they have on our own body. From the results of the study, they create or modify the pre-existing chemical structures/compounds for therapeutic properties, pinpointing their advantages. The psychedelic company stocks are meant to cure the condition of the specific population, thereby the company generating a beneficial and wide approach. This can bring massive changes in patient’s suffering from depression.

Thus, the stocks from the company are tested and proved to be truly beneficial. The major target of the psychedelic treatment is those people with MDD resistant to SSRIs. The potential advantage they hold is that they can treat the patient without producing general side effects like weight gain, insomnia, etc. In addition, the targeting of psychedelics on 5-HT2C receptors can also help treat depression in patients with co-existing diseases like Parkinson’s disease and dementia, thus retaining the impulsivity of the patients.

To summarize, the use of psychedelics and their therapeutic properties to cure depressive disorders is a rare and courageous attempt, which can be a landmark in modern medicine.