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(CNN Spanish) – Ayahuasca, an indigenous Quechua word, is the name of a drink used in the Amazon region of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and from Peru for therapeutic and spiritual purposes. This drink, also known as yagé, could give hope to millions of people suffering from drug-resistant depression.
A study conducted by scientists at The Conversation and whose findings have recently been published in the journal Medicina Psicológica suggests that depression According to the World Health Organization, a disease that afflicts 300 million people in the world world can be treated with ayahuasca.
The ayahuasca or yagé is a traditional Amazonian drink used for religious purposes
. ] For the study in question, the researchers visited the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, and gathered 218 patients suffering from depression. Of these, 29 suffered from treatment-resistant depression, but had no psychotic history such as schizophrenia, since use of the yagé may worsen this situation, according to The Conversation.
Ayahuasca is a mixture of two Amazonian plants producing psychedelic effects. It is commonly used by some Brazilian religions since 1930 and has been legalized in this country only in 1987 for religious purposes, "after the Federal Agency for Drugs Control concluded that" members of the religious group "had" remarkable "benefits.
Patients in the study were given to try both ayahuasca as a placebo drink, a brown, sour and bitter drink, with yeast, citric acid and artificial caramel coloring, and for patients to have side effects The researchers used zinc sulfate, said The Conversation.
L & 39 study found that one day after treatment, there were significant improvements in 50% of patients, and these patients reduced the number of their patients, his anxiety and mood improved, and a week later , patients who consumed ayahuasca ressen were still low levels of depression
. Only 27% of patients in the placebo group showed these effects, "says The Conversation research. "In clinical trials on depression, more than 45% of patients who took a placebo can make significant gains."
Study participants responded to a Hallucinogen assessment scale to translate their emotional experiences in numbers. The results of this evaluation show that those who consumed ayahuasca scored significantly higher than those who consumed a placebo, according to The Conversation
"Those who described visual, sound and physical effects Abundant during their trip with ayahuasca The consumption of ayahuasca or yagé produces dreamy visions, vomiting and "intense introspection," says the publication, and those who tried this substance described the reduction more depression seven days later feelings of inner peace, with God and with the universe
In fact, "Leon", a Brazilian who is part of nearly 30% of patients with depression resistant to treatment and wrote an anonymous blog about it, He was one of the patients who was part of the study and said he experienced "a feeling of ecstasy and a deep sense of being a spir internality. "
Although the study shows that this Amazonian drink might be useful for treating the most severe depression, experimenting with this herb can be a physical and emotional challenge for those who use yagé as a treatment, The Conversation says: "Regular users of the ayahuasca who are still suffering from depression have also been observed."
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