“神奇蘑菇”有望给抑郁症患者带来福音

Hundreds of Europeans with depression will soon have the chance to turn on, tune in and drop out of existing drug treatments, in the largest clinical trial ever launched to assess the medicinal effects of a psychoactive substance.

数百名患有抑郁症的欧洲人将很快有机会利用迷幻物质来摆脱现有的药物疗法，这将是有史以来为评估一种精神活性物质的药效而开展的规模最大的一次临床试验。

A British start-up is preparing a groundbreaking experiment to start early next year in eight European countries for 400 patients with treatment-resistant depression. The aim is to test whether psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can help improve their condition over three months.

一家英国初创公司正在为一项突破性的试验做准备，试验将从明年初开始，对8个欧洲国家的400名难治性抑郁症患者展开。试验目的是测试“神奇蘑菇”中的活性成分裸盖菇素(psilocybin)是否能在3个月的时间里改善这些患者的病情。

The trial — still subject to final approval from regulators — marks the boldest attempt yet to relaunch scientific study of the psychedelic substance in more than half a century. There was a clampdown on psychoactive drugs from the 1960s after they were popularised for recreational use by counter-cultural figures such as Alexander Shulgin and Timothy Leary, the psychologist who called for people to “turn on, tune in, drop out”.

这项尚需得到监管机构最终批准的试验，是半个世纪以来重启迷幻物质科学研究的最大胆的一次尝试。自上世纪60年代以来，在精神药物被亚历山大•舒尔金(Alexander Shulgin)和蒂莫西•利里(Timothy Leary)等反文化人物宣扬用于消遣后，这类药物受到了打压。利里是一名心理学家，他曾呼吁人们利用这种药物的帮助达到“激发、同调和脱离”的状态。

There has been recent renewed interest by academic groups and companies into psychedelics including MDMA, LSD, ketamine and psilocybin for conditions including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, severe headaches and alcohol dependency for which existing therapies are often ineffective.

近来，学术机构和企业对将迷幻物质应用于一些现有疗法常不奏效的病症重燃兴趣。这些迷幻物质包括MDMA、LSD、氯胺酮(译注：俗称K粉)和裸盖菇素等，对应的病症则包括抑郁症、创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)、强迫症、严重头痛和酒精依赖等。

Compass Pathways, a UK company created by a group of health specialists, has been in discussions with the European Medicines Agency and other regulators to prepare a trial that would administer psilocybin and use digital technology to monitor participants’ reactions.

由一批健康专家创立的英国公司Compass Pathways正与欧洲药品管理局(European Medicines Agency)和其他监管机构讨论，为一次对参与者施用裸盖菇素并利用数字技术监测参与者反应的试验做准备。

George Goldsmith, one of the founders with a relative who had serious depression, said: “This is not about going back to the 1960s, but about taking forward 21st century science with digital innovation and medicines now that we understand how they work.”

创始人之一乔治•戈德史密斯(George Goldsmith)有一名亲属罹患严重的抑郁症，他表示：“这不是要回到上世纪60年代，而是利用数字创新和我们现在已经理解药理的药物来推进21世纪的科学。”

A positive result in the trial could trigger regulatory approval and challenge both psychotherapy and the use of anti-depressants produced by the drugs industry. An estimated one-third of people with diagnosed depression do not respond well to current treatments.

如果试验取得积极结果，不仅可能获得监管部门的批准，还会对心理治疗和制药业生产的抗抑郁药的使用提出挑战。据估计，现有疗法对三分之一被诊断为抑郁症的患者效果不佳。

The widespread recreational use of magic mushrooms has given regulators reassurance that psilocybin is safe, while studies including a small one last year by London academics showed significant benefit in patients with depression.

“神奇蘑菇”被广泛用于消遣娱乐，这让监管部门认为，裸盖菇素是安全的，而包括去年伦敦学者们做的一项小型研究在内的科研成果显示，裸盖菇素对抑郁症患者大有裨益。

Compass has already received £4m in seed funding from its founders and external backers including Christian Angermayer, and is in discussions with private equity funds, venture capital and strategic investors to raise £15m for the European trial.

Compass已经获得了400万英镑的初期融资，出资人包括其创始人和克里斯蒂安•安格梅尔(Christian Angermayer)等外部支持者，该公司也在与一些私募股权基金、风险资本和战略投资者磋商，争取为欧洲的试验募集1500万英镑资金。

Mike Novogratz, the US investor and former principal at Fortress who is providing £1m, said: “My sense is I’m betting on the right horse at the right moment. If it works, this will push society forward, and I’ll get a good return.”

美国投资者、峰堡(Fortress)前高管迈克•诺沃格拉茨(Mike Novogratz)将出资100万英镑，诺沃格拉茨说：“我感觉自己正在一个准确的时机下注一匹正确的赛马。如果能成功，这将推动社会的进步，我也将得到很好的回报。”

Alfred Hofmann, the Swiss scientist who first synthesised LSD in 1938, produced psilocybin for Sandoz, now part of Novartis, from the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, when governments began to make psychedelic substances illegal.

瑞士科学家艾伯特•霍夫曼(Albert Hofmann)在1938年首次合成了LSD，上世纪50年代末到60年代中期，霍夫曼为现为诺华集团(Novartis)成员的山德士(Sandoz)制药公司研制出裸盖菇素，而这段时间政府开始将迷幻物质列为非法。

Compass has overseen production of the first significant quantity of psilocybin made to regulatory standards since that time. It is also using digital technologies to monitor patients for any signs of relapse during their participation in the trials, such as indicators that they are becoming inactive and isolated.

Compass实现了自那时以来符合监管标准的裸盖菇素的首次大批量生产。该公司还将利用数字技术监测在试验期间病人的任何复发迹象，例如显示他们正变得消极和孤独的指标。