The DOI matches its Crossref record; 32 of the 32 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases
Open accessAbstract
A double-blind, randomized, active placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted to examine safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-assisted psychotherapy in 12 patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases. Treatment included drug-free psychotherapy sessions supplemented by two LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions 2 to 3 weeks apart. The participants received either 200 μg of LSD (n = 8) or 20 μg of LSD with an open-label crossover to 200 μg of LSD after the initial blinded treatment was unmasked (n = 4). At the 2-month follow-up, positive trends were found via the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in reductions in trait anxiety (p = 0.033) with an effect size of 1.1, and state anxiety was significantly reduced (p = 0.021) with an effect size of 1.2, with no acute or chronic adverse effects persisting beyond 1 day after treatment or treatment-related serious adverse events. STAI reductions were sustained for 12 months. These results indicate that when administered safely in a methodologically rigorous medically supervised psychotherapeutic setting, LSD can reduce anxiety, suggesting that larger controlled studies are warranted.
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“After crossover, 12 months later (n = 9), both groups reported a decrease in anxiety.”
From Psychedelics for the treatment of depression, anxiety, and existential distress in patients with a terminal illness: a systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as Gasser et al., 2014
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) with psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and some other neuropsychiatric disorders”
From Naturalistic psychedelic therapy: The role of relaxation and subjective drug effects in antidepressant response (2024) · cites this paper as Gasser et al., 2014
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“More modern trials have assessed the efficacy of psychedelics to reduce anxiety symptoms among patients with a life-threatening illness, and have demonstrated large significant reductions in ratings of anxiety, with a response rate of 60–80% (defined as >50% decrease in measure relative to baseline), sustained over the course of 6–12 months post treatment (15–17)”
From Decreases in State and Trait Anxiety Post-psilocybin: A Naturalistic, Observational Study Among Retreat Attendees (2022) · cites this paper as [15]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“The remaining 7 SAEs occurred in 2 studies20,27 and were deemed unrelated to LSD: 2 pregnancies followed by spontaneous abortion; a planned nasal surgery; a radial fracture at a personal event unrelated to the study procedures; a suspected transient ischemic attack (2 weeks following LSD dose in a participant with Marfan syndrome and at least 4 prior suspected transient ischemic attack episodes);”
From Adverse Events in Studies of Classic Psychedelics: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2024) · cites this paper as [27]
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“No drug-related severe adverse events were reported.”
From Psychedelics for the treatment of depression, anxiety, and existential distress in patients with a terminal illness: a systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as Gasser et al., 2014
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In the citing paper
“As macrodoses have been found to be effective in the treatment of anxiety (Gasser et al. 2014;Griffiths et al. 2016;Grob et al. 2011;Ross et al. 2016) and treatment resistant depression (Carhart-Harris et al. 2018, 2016;Osório et al. 2015)”
From Psychedelic Microdosing, Mindfulness, and Anxiety: A Cross-Sectional Mediation Study (2023) · cites this paper as Gasser et al. 2014
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“Several studies disclosed deaths occurring after study completion; this practice is atypical, and as such, they are not tabulated in Table 1. However, for completeness, these deaths included: 3 deaths in a study of LSD for anxiety27 and 30 deaths across 3 studies of psilocybin for anxiety and mood disorders in participants with life-threatening cancer diagnoses during a period of up to”
From Adverse Events in Studies of Classic Psychedelics: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2024) · cites this paper as [27]
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“Entactogens and hallucinogens have shown promising results in preliminary clinical trials in disorders also characterized by social impairments such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (15–19).”
From Modulation of Social Cognition via Hallucinogens and “Entactogens” (2019) · cites this paper as [15]
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Citations
Cites
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Aaronson, N. K., Ahmedzai, S., Bergman, B., Bullinger, M., Cull, A., Duez, N. J., Filiberti, A., Flechtner, H., Fleishman, S. B., Haes, J. C. J. M. D., et al. (1993) · JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute · doi:10.1093/jnci/85.5.365 · Cited by 16,005
Griffiths, R. R., Richards, W. A., McCann, U., & Jesse, R. (2006) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-006-0457-5 · Cited by 1,684
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Pilot Study of Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety in Patients With Advanced-Stage Cancer
Grob, C. S., Danforth, A. L., Chopra, G. S., Hagerty, M., McKay, C. R., Halberstadt, A. L., & Greer, G. R. (2011) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.116 · Cited by 1,206
Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Erritzoe, D., Williams, T., Stone, J. M., Reed, L. J., Colasanti, A., Tyacke, R. J., Leech, R., Malizia, A. L., Murphy, K., et al. (2012) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1119598109 · Cited by 1,172
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MacLean, K. A., Johnson, M. W., & Griffiths, R. R. (2011) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881111420188 · Cited by 895
Drug, Set, and Setting: The Basis for Controlled Intoxicant Use
Zinberg, N. E. (1984) · Padova Digital University Archive (Ateneo di Padova) · Cited by 669
The pharmacology of lysergic acid diethylamide: A review
Passie, T., Halpern, J. H., Stichtenoth, D. O., Emrich, H. M., & Hintzen, A. (2008) · CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics · doi:10.1111/j.1755-5949.2008.00059.x · Cited by 455
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Gasser, 1996, Die Psycholytische Therapie in der Schweiz von 1988-1993., Schweiz Arch Neurol Psychol, 147, 59
- Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic, 2007, LSD-assisted psychotherapy in persons suffering from anxiety associated with life-threatening disesases. A phase II, double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-response pilot study. Clinical trial protocol. Retrieved from: ., Accessed December, 5, 2007
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Griffiths, R. R., Johnson, M. W., Carducci, M. A., Umbricht, A., Richards, W. A., Richards, B. D., Cosimano, M. P., & Klinedinst, M. A. (2016) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881116675513 · Cited by 2,201
“Two recent double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with the classic hallucinogens psilocybin (Grob et al., 2011) and LSD (Gasser et al., 2014) examined effects in 12 patients with life-threatening illness, including cancer.”
BackgroundNichols, D. E. (2016) · Pharmacological Reviews · doi:10.1124/pr.115.011478 · Cited by 1,762
Ross, S., Bossis, A., Guss, J., Agin-Liebes, G., Malone, T., Cohen, B., Mennenga, S. E., Belser, A., Kalliontzi, K., Babb, J., et al. (2016) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881116675512 · Cited by 1,698
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Bolstridge, M., Rucker, J., Day, C. M. J., Erritzoe, D., Kaelen, M., Bloomfield, M., Rickard, J. A., Forbes, B., Feilding, A., et al. (2016) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(16)30065-7 · Cited by 1,540
REBUS and the anarchic brain: Toward a unified model of the brain action of psychedelics
Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Friston, K. J. (2019) · Pharmacological Reviews · doi:10.1124/pr.118.017160 · Cited by 1,180
Metadata
- Authors
- Gasser, P., Holstein, D., Michel, Y., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B., Passie, T., & Brenneisen, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Bern (CH)
- Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gasser, Peter
- Venue
- Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease
- Published
- 2014-07
- Volume
- 202
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 513-520
- ISSN
- 0022-3018 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4086777
- OpenAlex
- W2078821747
- Cited by
- 750
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 47 · 2025: 72 · 2024: 113 · 2023: 74 · 2022: 89 · 2021: 109 · 2020: 63 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 38 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 11
- FWCI
- 41.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- BORIS (University Library Bern) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Open Access CRIS of the University of Bern
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Treatment of Major Depression
- Keywords
- lysergic acid diethylamide, anxiety, life-threatening illness, terminal illness, trait anxiety, state anxiety, drug safety, psychedelic therapy
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Combined Modality Therapy, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms, Pilot Projects, Placebos, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychotherapy, Serotonin Antagonists, Treatment Outcome, Cross-Over Studies
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