title: Treating drug dependence with the aid of ibogaine: a retrospective study.
abstract: Ibogaine is an alkaloid purported to be an effective drug dependence treatment. However, its efficacy has been hard to evaluate, partly because it is illegal in some countries. In such places, treatments are conducted in underground settings where fatalities have occurred. In Brazil ibogaine is unregulated and a combined approach of psychotherapy and ibogaine is being practiced to treat addiction. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ibogaine, we conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 75 previous alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and crack users (72% poly-drug users). We observed no serious adverse reactions or fatalities, and found 61% of participants abstinent. Participants treated with ibogaine only once reported abstinence for a median of 5.5 months and those treated multiple times for a median of 8.4 months. This increase was statistically significant (p < 0.001), and both single or multiple treatments led to longer abstinence periods than before the first ibogaine session (p < 0.001). These results suggest that the use of ibogaine supervised by a physician and accompanied by psychotherapy can facilitate prolonged periods of abstinence, without the occurrence of fatalities or complications. These results suggest that ibogaine can be a safe and effective treatment for dependence on stimulant and other non-opiate drugs.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Departamento de Psiquiatria, Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil eduardoschenberg@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eduardo Ekman
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Schenberg
authors.affiliation: Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Angélica
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Castro Comis
authors.affiliation: M.P.P.G Hospital, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruno Rasmussen
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Programa de Orientação e Atendimento a Dependentes (PROAD), Departamento de Psiquiatria, Instituto Plantando Consciência, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Dartiu Xavier
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: da Silveira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006213:Hallucinogens / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007050:Ibogaine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006213:Hallucinogens; D007050:Ibogaine
keywords: Ibogaine; addiction; cocaine; crack; dependence