Woman With Alzheimer’s Regains Continence and Initiates Conversations After Psilocybin Doses

An 83-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s disease began initiating conversations, regained urinary continence and dressed herself without assistance after receiving two doses of the Enigma strain of Psilocybe cubensis, NewScientist reported. The woman received a 5-gram oral dose with consent from her son. She sweated heavily and entered a prolonged sleep-like state.

Roughly 19 hours later she started a four-hour conversation that included personal memories and reflections, according to her son. In the following weeks she spontaneously entered conversations, selected and wore her own clothing and remained continent during periods when incontinence had been routine, Marcus Lago of the Ankh Cross Association in São Paulo, Brazil, stated.

One month after the first dose the woman received a second 3-gram oral dose.

She described surfing with her son on a peaceful island, recognized a rented car and noticed when someone was absent, Lago said. 2026.1813281. The woman’s diagnosis rested on symptom assessment rather than biomarker testing or neuroimaging, Albert Garcia-Romeu of Johns Hopkins University noted.

David Nutt of Imperial College London said similar accounts exist of psychedelics improving function in people with neurodegenerative decline and are consistent with known anti-inflammatory activity. Rudolph Tanzi of Harvard University described the report as a dramatic case study that warrants a trial conducted with appropriate safeguards.

Garcia-Romeu raised concerns about the high initial dose, the lack of long-term follow-up and the ethics of the study overall.