Psilocybin prevented chemotherapy nerve damage in mice
A Science paper reports that two doses before chemo protected peripheral nerves without blunting the cancer treatment, while this week's human results stayed small and preliminary.
Weekly Science Digest, 29 Aug 2026 to 4 Sep 2026. 34 papers read, 8 preprints, 2 new trials.
1. Psychedelics turn up in oncology
Psilocybin prevented chemotherapy nerve damage in mice without blunting the chemo.
Two doses before platinum- or taxane-based chemotherapy preserved tactile sensitivity and nerve fibre endings by keeping mitochondria moving along axons, and an accompanying Science commentary frames this as prophylaxis rather than treatment. A separate Cancer Discovery paper reports a non-hallucinogenic LSD analogue boosting the immune response to colorectal cancer; both results are preclinical.
This week's clinical reports were small, uncontrolled, or negative.
An MDMA-assisted couples therapy protocol for veteran PTSD reported preliminary benefit in eight couples, open-label with no control group. A review of the alcohol use disorder literature concludes the evidence is still too sparse and expectancy-biased to put psychedelics near naltrexone or acamprosate.
Two DMT dosing studies hit participant withdrawals at the high end.
CYB004, a deuterated DMT built for a steadier profile, was only acceptably tolerated at plasma concentrations matching plain DMT; a separate intravenous DMT study had two subjects stop their infusion for anxiety. A 20-person crossover compared whole-mushroom oral psilocybin, oral psilocin and sublingual psilocin.
PET in rats says psilocybin, LSD and 2C-B do not do the same thing.
All three share 5-HT2A agonism but produced distinct acute metabolic patterns across cortico-striatal and limbic networks. A week after dosing, LSD and psilocybin still showed modest hypometabolism; 2C-B did not.
