Anxiety treatment in the US is entering a hopeful new phase as experiments with therapies that are different from the standard pills that have been used for years are being conducted by the researchers. After a long period of time without any significant discoveries, a multitude of clinical trials is slowly changing the face of anxiety treatment in a regular practice. One very striking instance is the MMl20, a compound derived from LSD which in its Phase 2 trials showed the ability to produce relief of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms that was sustained for a long time after the administration of only one dose, with the positive effects lasting for weeks.
Scientists claim that such a rapid, acting drug for anxiety may help those people who have gone through several cycles of medications without any lasting results make a breakthrough. In addition, psilocybin, supported therapy is also considered as a potential anxiety treatment where the initial research/studies show that anxiety symptoms are meaningfully and durably reduced when the therapy is combined with structured psychotherapy. The approaches that are used here still remain research subjects and are highly regulated, but they suggest a world in which anxiety treatment will be more personalized and based on the recognizing of the deep psychological processing instead of just daily symptom suppression.
The outstanding molecules of the future are not the only innovation. Top, notch brain imaging, smartphone symptom tracking, and digital therapeutics are some of the ways through which doctors can get an upgrade of the anxiety treatment they are providing to their patients at any given time.
By tracking sleep, heart rate, and distress reporting, apps can be in a position to make suggestions when a patient’s anxiety treatment needs a change or adjustment.
Source: Compass Associates – How New Research Could Transform Anxiety Treatment
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