Psilocybin may protect against a common, debilitating side effect of chemotherapy, early study finds

Chemotherapy can save lives, but for many cancer patients, it leaves behind a painful legacy: damaged nerves that burn, tingle or go numb. Now, researchers report that a psychedelic compound may protect those nerves — not through its mind-bending effects, but by helping neurons keep their internal power supplies moving.

A new mouse study, published Thursday (Sept. 3) in the journal Science , suggests that psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in "magic mushrooms," may help prevent this painful and sometimes permanent side effect of chemotherapy, known as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).

In experiments in mice, psilocybin prevented nerve damage from CIPN that can cause pain, numbness and heightened sensitivity to cold and touch. Two doses of the drug given prior to chemotherapy garnered protection that persisted through as many as six rounds of the cancer treatment, according to the study.

CIPN affects roughly one-third to one-half of people receiving certain chemotherapies, said Dr. Thomas Strouse , a professor of clinical psychiatry and a neuropathy researcher at UCLA who was not involved in the study. In severe cases, the neuropathy can force doctors to reduce or stop chemotherapy. It can also contribute to mobility problems, which raise the risk of falls and fractures.

"It's a big deal, big problem," Strouse said. Researchers have been searching for a way to prevent it for a long time, he added.

Initially, the researchers weren't looking for a neuropathy treatment, said study co-author Dr. Moran Amit , a cancer surgeon and researcher at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. His team was investigating whether compounds that promote neuroplasticity — the nervous system's ability to change and adapt — might protect nerves and improve existing cancer treatments.

After testing several psychedelic compounds, they "very early on focused on psilocybin because this was the most effective one" for relieving neuropathy symptoms, Amit told Live Science. The psychedelic has been explored as a treatment for psychiatric disorders such as depression , in which it might promote "hyperconnectivity" between certain brain regions.

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