Case Report Finds Temporary Gains, Then Reversion, After Psilocybin in One Woman With Advanced Alzheimer’s

An elderly Japanese-American woman with advanced Alzheimer’s disease regained urinary continence, walked independently, dressed herself, and engaged in spontaneous conversation after receiving two oral doses of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, according to a case report published in Frontiers in Neuroscience.

The woman, who had lived with Alzheimer’s for about 10 years and experienced severe functional decline for roughly five years, had advanced dementia with very limited speech, severe cognitive impairment, urinary incontinence, and reduced mobility. She depended on caregivers for daily living activities.

She received a 5-gram dose followed one month later by a 3-gram dose. After the first dose she experienced profuse sweating and hyperthermia, then entered a prolonged sleep-like state. Approximately 19 hours later she spontaneously initiated autobiographical conversation that lasted several hours.

In the days and weeks after the first dose the woman maintained urinary continence, walked without assistance, dressed herself, retrieved contextual memories, expressed emotions, maintained eye contact, and smiled with others. After the second dose she showed greater speech capabilities, more facial expressions and humor, and increased walking agility while remaining continent.

The reported benefits lasted at least one month.

The patient did not experience severe or persistent adverse effects beyond the initial sweating, hyperthermia, and sleep-like state. The Brazilian study authors noted that the findings are based on a single patient with no control group, standardized cognitive assessments, brain imaging, or sleep studies.

The diagnosis was not confirmed with modern biomarkers, and natural fluctuations in her condition could not be ruled out.

Director of scientific engagement at the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago, told Fox News Digital. Kloske added that patients and caregivers should discuss all medications, vitamins, supplements, and other substances with physicians to understand possible interactions with approved Alzheimer’s treatments. Dr.

Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said he is "dubious" of the study’s significance because the effect was temporary and limited to one case. "Also, there is a built-in danger of giving a hallucinogen to someone with this degree of mental impairment, because the behavioral effects are largely unpredictable and can be harmful," he told Fox News Digital.

"Having said that, I am not surprised to see that psilocybin could temporarily overcome or alter the gummed-up [brain] circuitry (with plaques) of advanced Alzheimer’s disease – so it might have some value in a carefully controlled setting," Siegel said.

Oregon began licensing psilocybin service centers in 2023. Colorado’s regulated natural medicine program became operational in 2025, and New Mexico enacted a Medical Psilocybin Act in 2025. Psilocybin remains a Schedule I substance under federal law, and no FDA-approved psilocybin treatments exist for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.