News
Vail Health launches study investigating how to expand antidepressant effects of psilocybin
_reg.jpeg)
All OPTIMIZE study participants receive psilocybin, which has been proven to positively impact patients with depression
Psilocybin, the active psychedelic ingredient in magic mushrooms, has been proven to impact patients with depression positively. Vail Health’s OPTIMIZE study, which will administer doses of psilocybin to all 140 participants, aims to investigate how to predict and enhance this effect.“In our (psilocybin) studies, only half the people that get a high dose are really feeling completely fine six weeks later,” said Charles Raison, director of Vail Health’s Behavioral Health Innovation Center. “We want to try to see, can we get 70 percent of people there, 80 percent of people?”
The OPTIMIZE study examines the impact of noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation on patients with depression who have received a strong dose of psilocybin.
Read the full article >
More News
-
New!
More
Hot, Cold and Mental Health: Inside Vail Health’s CHILL’D Research Study
Depression, a mental illness affecting more than 18% of American adults, has no blood marker or single biological cause. It looks and feels different in everyone because the brain is a complex organ, and there is no single way that depression develops. Like many mental health conditions, depression can be treated through medical, pharmaceutical and alternative approaches. One promising avenue under study at Vail Health’s Behavioral Health Innovation Center is contrast therapy — combining sauna and cold plunge treatments.
-
New!
More
What to Expect Before, During and After a Colonoscopy
If you've been putting off a colonoscopy, you're not alone. It's one of the most recommended — and most avoided — preventive screenings in medicine. But here's what most people don't realize until after their first one: the procedure itself is a non-event. You're asleep. You don't feel a thing. What people actually dread, and what they talk about afterward, is the prep. The good news is that even the prep is manageable, and the payoff is enormous. Colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable cancers when caught early. A colonoscopy doesn't just detect it; in many cases, it stops cancer before it starts.
-
New!
More
Navigating Men’s Sexual Health: Erectile Dysfunction and the Bigger Picture
For something so common — and treatable — erectile dysfunction (ED) is still surprisingly difficult to talk about. “The biggest misconception men have is that there’s a mechanical or physical problem with them, and that’s usually not the case,” explains Dr. Joseph Dall’Era, a urologist at Vail Health. In reality, ED is far more nuanced and manageable than people realize. Understanding what’s happening and knowing when to speak up can shift the experience.