A US$5m grant will fund a trial investigating the potential of the drug ibogaine to treat neurological disorders including traumatic brain injury.
Barrow Neurological Institute received the funding from the Arizona Department of Health Services to conduct the phase 1/2 clinical trial.
A multidisciplinary team at Barrow will lead the study in collaboration with the Barrow Neuro Analytics Center and researchers from Arizona State University.
Susan Criswell, chief medical officer for clinical research at Barrow and a co-investigator, said: “Roughly one-half of individuals with traumatic brain injuries experience incomplete recovery or lingering symptoms after six months.
“Therefore, we are excited to begin investigating ibogaine as a potential new therapy for individuals in our community and across Arizona who are suffering from the long-term effects of neurologic injury.”
Ibogaine has attracted attention because of its reported effects on brain chemistry.
Recent open-label studies, in which participants and researchers know which treatment is given, have reported improvements in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, cognitive function and quality of life among veterans.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at Barrow aims to enrol 40 people with chronic TBI symptoms.
Double-blind means neither the participants nor the researchers know which treatment each person receives during the trial, while a placebo is an inactive comparison treatment.
Half of the participants will receive ibogaine and half will receive a placebo.
Researchers will use standardised assessments to determine how effectively ibogaine addresses participants’ TBI symptoms and quality of life.
Participants will also undergo tests to measure any physical changes associated with reported improvements in their symptoms.
Researchers hope to enrol the first participant in 2027.
Michael T Lawton, president and chief executive officer of Barrow, said the trial would explore new treatments for people with PTSD and TBI while examining how the brain functions as the mind.
He said: “Our vision for Barrow is to move beyond traditional neurology and neurosurgery to explore the mysteries of the mind, harnessing our clinical access to patients and the brain during interventions to better understand the brain’s circuitry and functionality.
“Psychedelic medicine is yet another area that enables us to understand the mind, how it perceives the world, and how pharmacology can influence it.”
