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Eric Caumes (Infectious disease specialist)
Affected by long-term Covid since February 2022, a 41-year-old American woman noticed a disappearance of her symptoms, following the consumption of ecstasy and psilocybin, a substance present in hallucinogenic mushrooms. What can we say about it? Doctissimo interviewed Professor Eric Caumes, infectious disease specialist and consultant at the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris.
After taking MDMA (ecstasy) and psilocibine, a 41-year-old American woman, suffering from long-term Covid since February 2022, was surprised to see her symptoms disappear. His case was the subject of a scientific publication.
Symptoms resolved within a few months
Affected since February 2022 by long-term Covid, the forty-year-old suffered from fatigue, joint pain, headaches… In a therapeutic context, she was therefore subjected to taking MDMA, a hard drug and psilocybin, a molecule present in hallucinogenic mushrooms.
In May 2022, she received her first dose of psilocybin and noticed an initial improvement in her symptoms. Then over time, she began to get chills as the treatment was eliminated from her body. A month later, she received a 125 mg dose of MDMA combined with two new doses of psilocybin. It was following this second treatment that she was able to notice a “significant improvement” in her symptoms. By the end of 2022, they had completely disappeared.
What can we say about this particular case?
Questioned, Professor Eric Caumes, infectious disease specialist and consultant at Hôtel-Dieu, believes that this unique case is too “fragile” for any conclusions to be drawn. “It is difficult from a single case to draw general conclusions about what could improve long Covid. indicates the expert. “This type of publication has, in my opinion, no scientific value. It is possible that it was simply time that improved the situation of this patient“. So be careful not to try to imitate this patient outside of a medical setting!
On the other hand, the specialist recalls that in the context of long Covid, psychosomatic care can help the patient. “This happens through cognitive-behavioral therapiesof the mindfulness meditation, a resumption of sporting activity… And this has been scientifically proven” he concludes.