Psilocybin-assisted treatment for people living with fibromyalgia
Tests psilocybin-assisted treatment for pain and other symptoms in adults with fibromyalgia.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Where
- Birmingham, United StatesSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Psilocybin-facilitated Treatment for Chronic Pain
- Status
- Recruiting
- Phase
- Early phase 1
- People taking part
- 30 people, planned
- Started
- 1 Nov 2023
- Expected to end
- 31 Dec 2026
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Psilocybin
- Dextromethorphan
- Record updated
- 11 March 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for women aged 25-65 with fibromyalgia who have widespread muscle and joint pain. It tests psilocybin against dextromethorphan.
- Age
- 25 Years to 65 Years
- Sex
- Women only. Men cannot join.
- Disease stage
- Fibromyalgia under the ACR 2016 criteria. Widespread muscle and joint pain for ≥12 months. Average daily pain of at least 5 on a 0-10 scale.
- Earlier treatment
- No hallucinogen use ever, or none for at least 3 years. No opioid use in the last 60 days. Some other medicines must be stopped at least two weeks before the drug day.
- Biomarker or test result
- Cannot join with hs-CRP ≥ 10mg/L, ESR > 60 mm/hr, positive rheumatoid factor, positive ANA, or poor CYP2D6 metabolism by gene test.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Pregnant, planning pregnancy within 6 months, or breastfeeding
- Psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder, in yourself or close relatives
- Current thoughts of suicide or harming others
- Use of antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, blood thinners or regular anti-inflammatory medicines
- Rheumatologic or autoimmune disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma or liver disease
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 46 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Female age 25-65
- Widespread musculoskeletal pain for ≥12 months
- Symptoms meeting the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2016 revisions to the 2010/2011 Fibromyalgia Diagnostic Criteria
- Participant completes daily report during baseline period (at least 80% completion rate)
- Able to attend UAB for all scheduled appointments
- Ability to read/write in English
- No prior hallucinogen use or it will have been at least 3 years since last use of a hallucinogen
- Availability of a friend or family member into whose care the participant can be released (a key responsibility includes driving participants home) following their drug administration session
- A current average daily pain score of at least 5 on a 0-10 scale
- Discontinuation of exclusionary medication occurring at least two weeks and for at least 5 half-lives, whichever is longer, prior to drug administration day
Who cannot take part
- Use of opioid medications in the last 60 days
- Regular use of any anti-inflammatory medication (e.g., aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen)
- Use of blood thinning medication
- Use of tricyclic antidepressants, lithium, SSRIs, MAOIs, St. John's Wort, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HT), haloperidol, or other antipsychotic medications, mood stabilizers, or medications with serotonin activity
- Febrile illness or use of antibiotics in the 4 weeks before study commencement
- Planned surgery or procedures during the study period, or operated on in the 4 weeks prior to study commencement
- Planned vaccination during the study period, or vaccinated in the 4 weeks before study commencement
- Positive anti-nuclear antibody (ANA)
- Use of UGT1A9, UGT1A10 and aldehyde or alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme inhibitors
- Dependent on any psychoactive drugs other than nicotine and caffeine
- Use of the antiviral drug efavirenz
- Use of PDE-5-Inhibitors, soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulators
- Use of any medication containing dextromethorphan (e.g., cough suppressants)
- Use of strong or moderate inhibitors of Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6)
- Significant psychological comorbidity that in the discretion of the investigator compromises study integrity (i.e., presence of a current, clinically significant, untreated or unstable psychiatric condition) and/or a baseline HADS depression subscale score of ≥16
- Current or past history of any psychotic disorders
- Current or past history of bipolar I or II disorder
- First or second-degree relatives with any psychotic disorders, or bipolar I or II disorders
- Diagnosed rheumatologic or auto-immune condition
- Blood or clotting disorder
- Current hypertension (exceeding 140 systolic or 90 diastolic at resting); resting heart rate>90
- Acute infection (oral temperature >100°F)
- Phenylketonuria, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, diabetes, liver disease, and mucus with cough or slowed breathing
- Pain due to other conditions or diseases that would complicate study participation or pain reporting
- Males
- Daily consumption of grapefruit juice
- Planning to move from the Birmingham area in the next 6 months
- Current participation in another treatment trial
- Pregnant or planning to become pregnant within 6 months, or currently breastfeeding
- Current suicidal or homicidal ideation (assessed using Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale at each visit)
- High-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP) ≥ 10mg/L
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) > 60 mm/hr
- Positive rheumatoid factor
- Levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone or free thyroxine outside UAB Hospital Labs reference values
- Severe anemia
- Poor metabolizers of CYP2D6 based on genotype
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 25 and 65 years old?
Where in United States
- UAB Beacon TowerBirmingham, United StatesContact: Peter Hendricks, PhDTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The primary purpose of this study is to preliminarily estimate the efficacy of psilocybin-facilitated treatment for fibromyalgia. Investigators will assess the impact of psilocybin-facilitated treatment on pain, fatigue, and other fibromyalgia symptoms, in addition to the level of functioning and quality of life. Investigators will also evaluate potential mediators of treatment (e.g., treatment expectations, pain characteristics, personality, beliefs/cognitions, emotions). Investigators hypothesize psilocybin treatment will significantly reduce symptom severity in fibromyalgia patients.
The 2 groups in the trial
- PsilocybinTreatment being tested
Participants in the Psilocybin condition will receive .36 mg/kg of psilocybin.
- Active PlaceboExisting treatment, for comparison
Participants in the Active Placebo condition will receive 2.6 mg/kg of dextromethorphan (DXM).
Treatment: Dextromethorphan
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Psilocybin-facilitated Treatment for Chronic Pain
- Plain-language title
- Psilocybin-assisted treatment for people living with fibromyalgiaGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 14 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT05068791, who can take part
- Record updated
- 11 March 2026