Research Square
July 9, 2026
Samuel Westenhöfer, Yamina Ehrt, Barbora Provaznikova et al.
For people with treatment-resistant depression, intranasal esketamine significantly reduced depressive symptoms during an initial four-week induction phase. After induction, two different maintenance schedules—one with a front-loaded pattern and one with a spaced interval-extension pattern—were compared. No significant differences in depressive symptom trajectories were observed between the two schedules over the maintenance period. By the end of maintenance, response rates were 35.3% on the clinician-rated scale and 26.0% on the self-report scale; remission rates were 31.4% and 38.0%, respectively. These results suggest that maintenance dosing intervals may be scheduled flexibly without loss of efficacy, though the retrospective, observational design and small sample size warrant caution.
December 10, 2025
Johannes Jungwirth, Samuel Westenhöfer, Helena Aicher et al.
In a real-world clinical setting in Switzerland, 19 patients with treatment-resistant depression received one to four doses of psilocybin (20–35 mg). Depression severity, measured by the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory II, showed significant and clinically meaningful reductions from before to after treatment. Response rates were 33.3% and remission rates 22.2% on one scale; on the other, both were 27.8%. No serious adverse events occurred, and multiple dosing did not add benefit. These response and remission rates are lower than those seen in earlier controlled trials, but the findings provide some of the first real-world evidence for psilocybin's antidepressant effects.
The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
December 10, 2025
Johannes Jungwirth, Samuel Westenhöfer, Helena D. Aicher et al.
In a retrospective analysis of medical records from 19 patients with treatment-resistant depression treated with psilocybin (20–35 mg) in one to four dosing sessions at a Swiss psychiatric hospital, depression severity decreased significantly. Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores dropped from an average of 30.78 before treatment to 19.89 afterward, a large effect, and Beck Depression Inventory II scores fell from 32.33 to 23.28. Response and remission rates were 33.3% and 22.2% by the MADRS, and 27.8% and 27.8% by the BDI. No serious adverse events occurred. Response and remission rates were lower than those in previous controlled trials, and no additive effect of multiple dosing was found.