Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in Palliative Care

NCT ID: NCT05883540

Last Updated: 2025-07-23

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE2

Total Enrollment

60 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-06-09

Study Completion Date

2028-05-31

Brief Summary

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Background: Terminally ill patients often experience significant psychosocial distress having depressed mood, death anxiety, pain, and an overall poor quality of life. Recent evidence from pilot studies suggests that serotonergic hallucinogens including lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin produce significant and sustained reductions of depressive symptoms and anxiety, along with increases in quality of life, and life meaning in patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. Additionally, serotonergic hallucinogens may produce antinociceptive effects.

Objective and Design: The study aims to evaluate effects of LSD on psychosocial distress in 60 patients suffering from an end-stage fatal disease with a life expectancy ≥12wks and ≤2yrs in an active placebo-controlled double-blind parallel study. Patients will be allocated in a 2:1 ratio to one of the two intervention arms receiving either two moderate to high doses of LSD (100 µg and 100 µg or 100 µg and 200 µg) as intervention and two low doses of LSD (25 µg and 25 µg) as active-placebo control.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Palliative Care Pain Anxiety Depression Demoralization Psychological Distress Quality of Life Caregiver Burden Fear of Death Existential Distress

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

QUADRUPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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treatment arm

Subjects in the treatment arm will receive 100 μg LSD (first session) and 100 or 200 μg LSD (second session) per os.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Tartrate

Intervention Type DRUG

100 or 200 μg p.o.

control arm

Subjects in the control arm will receive 25 μg LSD (first session) and 25 μg LSD (second session) per os.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Tartrate

Intervention Type DRUG

25 μg p.o.

Interventions

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Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Tartrate

25 μg p.o.

Intervention Type DRUG

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Tartrate

100 or 200 μg p.o.

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

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LSD LSD

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Age ≥ 22 years.
* End-stage fatal disease of any cause with a life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks and ≤ 2 years
* Sufficient understanding of the study procedures and risks associated with the study.
* Participants must be willing to adhere to the study procedures and sign the consent form.
* Participants must be willing not to drive a traffic vehicle or to operate machines within 24 h after LSD administration.
* Participants must complete an actual "Emergency Medical Directive"

Exclusion Criteria

* Life expectancy \< 12 weeks
* Known hypersensitivity to LSD
* Requiring ongoing concomitant therapy with a psychoactive prescription drug which might interfere with the study drug, and unable or unwilling to comply with the washout period.
* Current use of a potent drug CYP2D6 inhibitor
* Women who are pregnant or nursing or intend to become pregnant during the course of the study.
* Somatic disorders including CNS involvement of cancer, untreated epilepsy with a history of grand-mal seizures, history of delirium, end-stage heart failure (NYHA IV), untreated hypertension or insufficiently treated hypertension, angina pectoris, severe liver disease or severely impaired renal function, or other that in the judgement of the investigators pose too great potential for side effects.
* Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g., due to language problems, psychological disorders, dementia, etc. of the participant.
* Participation in another study with an investigational drug within the 30 days preceding and during the present study
* concomitant diagnosis of past or present psychotic disorder, first-degree relative with psychotic disorders
* concomitant diagnosis of past or present bipolar disorder
* current delirium
* substance use disorder (within the last 2 months, except nicotine, opioids used for analgesia, and benzodiazepine treatment for anxiety).
* Weight \< 45 kg
* Suicidal ideation with active intent or plan to act on suicidal thoughts as assessed by the treating investigator.
Minimum Eligible Age

22 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University Hospital, Zürich

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Spital Uster AG, Uster, Switzerland

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Yasmin Schmid, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Locations

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Spital Uster AG

Uster, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

University Hospital Basel

Basel, , Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

University Hospital Zurich, Clinic for Radio-Oncology, Competence Centre Palliative Care

Zurich, , Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Switzerland

Central Contacts

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Yasmin Schmid, MD

Role: CONTACT

+41613286847

Facility Contacts

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Sivan Schipper, MD

Role: primary

+41449111291

Yasmin Schmid, MD

Role: primary

+41613286847

Aaron Klaiber, MSc

Role: backup

+41613284567

David Blum, Prof

Role: primary

+41442553742

References

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Schipper S, Nigam K, Schmid Y, Piechotta V, Ljuslin M, Beaussant Y, Schwarzer G, Boehlke C. Psychedelic-assisted therapy for treating anxiety, depression, and existential distress in people with life-threatening diseases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024 Sep 12;9(9):CD015383. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD015383.pub2.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 39260823 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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BASEC 2022-01818

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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