Eating Mushrooms Lowers Cancer Risk

In continuation of my update on the benefits of mushrooms

 

Edible mushrooms are good for health. Now, a new study revealed that consuming mushrooms on a daily basis can lower your risk of developing cancer.

Next time you make a salad, you might want to consider adding mushrooms to it. The new Penn State study was published in Advances in Nutrition.

The systematic review and meta-analysis examined 17 cancer studies published from 1966 to 2020. Analyzing data from more than 19,500 cancer patients, researchers explored the relationship between mushroom consumption and cancer risk.

Benefits of Mushrooms

Mushrooms are rich in vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants.

The team's findings show that these super foods may also help guard against cancer.

Even though shiitake, oyster, maitake and king oyster mushrooms have higher amounts of the amino acid ergothioneine than white button, cremini and portabello mushrooms, the researchers found that people who incorporated any variety of mushrooms into their daily diets had a lower risk of cancer.

According to the findings, individuals who ate 18 grams of mushrooms daily had a 45% lower risk of cancer compared to those who did not eat mushrooms.

"Mushrooms are the highest dietary source of ergothioneine, which is a unique and potent antioxidant and cellular protector," said Djibril M. Ba, a graduate student in epidemiology at Penn State College of Medicine. 

Fight Cancer with Mushrooms

When specific cancers were examined, the researchers noted the strongest associations for breast cancer as individuals who regularly ate mushrooms had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer.

Ba explained that this could be because most of the studies did not include other forms of cancer. Moving forward, this research could be helpful in further exploring the protective effects that mushrooms have and helping to establish healthier diets that prevent cancer.

"Overall, these findings provide important evidence for the protective effects of mushrooms against cancer," said coauthor John Richie, a Penn State Cancer Institute researcher and professor of public health sciences and pharmacology.

"Future studies are needed to better pinpoint the mechanisms involved and specific cancers that may be impacted."

Eating Mushrooms Lowers Cancer Risk

A single dose of magic mushroom compound reduces anxiety and depression among cancer patients

In continuation of my update on psilocybin

Magic mushrooms are wild or cultivated mushrooms containing psilocybin, which is a naturally occurring hallucinogenic and psychoactive compound. A single dose of psilocybin provides long-term relief of anxiety and depression in cancer patients, a new study found.

A team of researchers at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine has found that a one-time, single dose of psilocybin, the compound found in psychedelic mushroom or magic mushroom, combined with psychotherapy, has been linked to a marked improvement in existential and emotional distress in patients with cancer. The drug’s effect has persisted for nearly five years after administration.

The study, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, highlights the efficacy of psilocybin in reducing anxiety levels and depression in cancer patients. Patients with cancer who received the compound reported reductions in anxiety, depression, demoralization, hopelessness, and death anxiety nearly five years after receiving a single dose of the drug and psychotherapy.

Psilocybin effects

Psilocybin is a known hallucinogenic substance commonly found in mushrooms growing in South America, Mexico, Europe, and the United States. A schedule-I controlled substance, the compound has a high potential for abuse. However, people use it as a recreational drug, and over the past years, studies have analyzed its potential for medical purposes.

The compound has both positive and negative effects. It has been studied to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression but has been known to trigger psychotic episodes. The drug has long been used recreationally due to its hallucinogenic effects, which work by altering a person’s perception, thoughts, and feelings.

Promising results

In the current study, the researchers conducted a long-term within-subjects follow-up analysis of self-reported symptomatology among 15 participants, who agreed to participate at an average of 3.2 to 4.5 years, following the administration of psilocybin.

The researchers noted that among the participants, about 60 to 80 percent of them had met the criteria for clinically significant anxiolytic or antidepressant responses after 4.5 years after receiving the drug. Further, 71 to 100 percent attributed positive life changes, thanks to the combination of psilocybin and psychotherapy treatment, rating it among the most spiritually significant and personally-meaningful experiences in their lifetime.

“These findings suggest that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy holds promise in promoting long-term relief from cancer-related psychiatric distress. Limited conclusions, however, can be drawn regarding the efficacy of this therapy due to the crossover design of the parent study,” the researchers wrote on the paper.

“Nonetheless, the present study adds to the emerging literature base suggesting that psilocybin-facilitated therapy may enhance the psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being of patients with life-threatening cancer,” they added.

The authors said psilocybin shows promise as an important tool for enhancing psychotherapy’s efficacy and eventually, providing relief for symptoms of anxiety and depression.  While the exact mechanism on how psilocybin works are not fully understood, the researchers believe the drug makes the brain more receptive to new thought patterns and ideas.

It is also believed that the compound targets a brain network, called the default mode network, which becomes activated when individuals perform mind wandering and self-reflection. These activities aid in making sense of oneself and a sense of coherent narrative identity.

In most people with anxiety and depression, the said network becomes excessively active and has been tied to feelings of worry, rigid thinking, and rumination. The compound appears to work to shift the activity in the network, allowing people to have a broader perspective of their lives and behaviors.

The team plans to further conduct additional studies with bigger trials in patients who belong to diverse ethnic and socioeconomic populations. Also, they hope to conduct more studies on patients with advanced cancer-related psychiatric and existential distress.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881119897615?journalCode=jopa&

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybin

Magic mushroom compound psilocybin could provide new avenue for antidepressant research

In continuation of my update on psilocybin

The small feasibility trial, which involved 12 people with treatment-resistant depression, found that psilocybin was safe and well-tolerated and that, when given alongside supportive therapy, helped reduce symptoms of depression in about half of the participants at 3 months post-treatment. The authors warn that strong conclusions cannot be made about the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin but the findings show that more research in this field is now needed.

"This is the first time that psilocybin has been investigated as a potential treatment for major depression," says lead author Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, Imperial College London, London, UK. "Treatment-resistant depression is common, disabling and extremely difficult to treat. New treatments are urgently needed, and our study shows that psilocybin is a promising area of future research. The results are encouraging and we now need larger trials to understand whether the effects we saw in this study translate into long-term benefits, and to study how psilocybin compares to other current treatments."

Depression is a major public health burden, affecting millions of people worldwide and costing the US alone over $200 billion per year. The most common treatments for depression are cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and antidepressants. However, 1 in 5 patients with depression do not respond to any intervention, and many relapse.

"Previous animal and human brain imaging studies have suggested that psilocybin may have effects similar to other antidepressant treatments," says Professor David Nutt, senior author from Imperial College London "Psilocybin targets the serotonin receptors in the brain, just as most antidepressants do, but it has a very different chemical structure to currently available antidepressants and acts faster than traditional antidepressants."

The trial involved 12 patients (6 women, 6 men) with moderate to severe depression (average length of illness was 17.8 years). The patients were classified as having treatment-resistant depression, having previously had two unsuccessful courses of antidepressants (lasting at least 6 weeks). Most (11) had also received some form of psychotherapy. Patients were not included if they had a current or previous psychotic disorder, an immediate family member with a psychotic disorder, history of suicide or mania or current drug or alcohol dependence.

Patients attended two treatment days -- a low (test) dose of psilocybin 10mg oral capsules, and a higher (therapeutic) dose of 25mg a week later. Patients took the capsules while lying down on a ward bed, in a special room with low lighting and music, and two psychiatrists sat either side of the bed. The psychiatrists were present to provide support and check in on patients throughout the process by asking how they were feeling. Patients had an MRI scan the day after the therapeutic dose. They were followed up one day after the first dose, and then at 1, 2, 3, and 5 weeks and 3 months after the second dose.

The psychedelic effects of psilocybin were detectable 30 to 60 minutes after taking the capsules. The psychedelic effect peaked at 2-3 hours, and patients were discharged 6 hours later. No serious side effects were reported, and expected side effects included transient anxiety before or as the psilocybin effects began (all patients), some experienced confusion (9), transient nausea (4) and transient headache (4). Two patients reported mild and transient paranoia.

At 1 week post-treatment, all patients showed some improvement in their symptoms of depression. 8 of the 12 patients (67%) achieved temporary remission. By 3 months, 7 patients (58%) continued to show an improvement in symptoms and 5 of these were still in remission. Five patients showed some degree of relapse.

The patients knew they were receiving psilocybin (an 'open-label' trial) and the effect of psilocybin was not compared with a placebo. The authors also stress that most of the study participants were self-referred meaning they actively sought treatment, and may have expected some effect (5 had previously tried psilocybin before). All patients had agreement from their GP to take part in the trial. They add that patients were carefully screened and given psychological support before, during and after the intervention, and that the study took place in a positive environment. Further research is now needed to tease out the relative influence of these factors on symptoms of depression, and look at how psilocybin compares to placebo and other current treatments.

Writing in a linked Comment, Professor Philip Cowen, MRC Clinical Scientist, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, says: "The key observation that might eventually justify the use of a drug like psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression is demonstration of sustained benefit in patients who previously have experienced years of symptoms despite conventional treatments, which makes longer-term outcomes particularly important. The data at 3 month follow-up (a comparatively short time in patients with extensive illness duration) are promising but not completely compelling, with about half the group showing significant depressive symptoms. Further follow-ups using detailed qualitative interviews with patients and family could be very helpful in enriching the assessment."
Ref :http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00576-3

'Turkey tail' mushroom effectively suppresses prostate tumour development

We Know that, Turkey tail/Trametes versicolor — formerly known as Coriolus versicolor and Polyporus versicolor is an extremely common polypore mushroom which can be found throughout the world. Versicolor means 'of several colours' and it is true that this mushroom is found in a wide variety of different colours. T. versicolor is commonly called Turkey Tail because of its resemblance to the tail of the wild turkey. T. versicolor is recognized as a medicinal mushroom in Chinese medicine under the name yun zhi. In China and Japan T. versicolor is used as in immunoadjuvant therapy for cancer. Now Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers reported that, the mushroom  has the  medicinal benefits up to  100 per cent effective in suppressing prostate tumour development in mice during early trials......

'Turkey tail' mushroom effectively suppresses prostate tumour development

Mode of action of Cordycepin (a drug from cordyceps mushroom) established.....

We know that Cordycepin, or 3'-deoxyadenosine (known polyadenylation inhibitor),   was initially extracted from fungi of genus Cordyceps, (Cordyceps is a strange parasitic mushroom that grows on caterpillars). 3'-Deoxy adnosine has shown to possess diverse activities such as anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects. Properties attributed to cordyceps mushroom in Chinese medicine made it interesting to investigate and it has been studied for some time. In fact, the first scientific publication on cordycepin was in 1950 . Now it can be prepared from a cultivated form and also by synthetically. The problem was that although cordycepin was a promising drug, it was quickly degraded in the body. Now researcher Dr. de Moor has come up with interesting explanation about how the drug works.

The team has observed two effects on the cells: at a low dose cordycepin inhibits the uncontrolled growth and division of the cells and at high doses it stops cells from sticking together, which also inhibits growth. Both of these effects probably have the same underlying mechanism, which is that cordycepin interferes with how cells make proteins. At low doses cordycepin interferes with the production of mRNA, the molecule that gives instructions on how to assemble a protein. And at higher doses it has a direct impact on the making of proteins. More interestingly, the team has developed a very effective method that can be used to test new, more efficient or more stable versions of the drug in the Petri dish...

Ref : http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/media/releases/2009/091223-new-insights-mushroom-derived-drug-for-cancer.html

7 Glow-in-the-Dark Mushroom Species Discovered

7 Glow-in-the-Dark Mushroom Species Discovered

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