Gómez-Busto Federico J, Ortiz Mario I
Department of Pharmacology, Academic Area of Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico., Eliseo Ramírez Ulloa 400, Col. Doctores, 42090, Pachuca, Hidalgo, MEXICO.
Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2020 Dec;17(6):365-380. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20200606.
Hallucinogenic substances or psychedelic drugs have been historically used by humans worldwide for centuries, and interest grows around them because of the therapeutic potential that they pose for mental disease. Virtual Reality (VR), has been highly developed and improved in the last decade, and it is also gaining importance due to their potential as therapeutic tools. In this article, the most recent and relevant information regarding the medical applications of both VR and psychedelics was highlighted, and diverse potential therapeutic uses were explored in hope to set the ground for further research on this topic.
A systematic literature review using the PRISMA methods was conducted in PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus and Web of Science, including only peer-reviewed clinical trials or case studies written in English, that address the use of psychedelics and/or VR for the treatment of psychiatric disorders and that measure the success of the therapies. A final selection of 23 manuscripts were used in this systematic review.
VR showed security and significant efficacy in the management of special cases of phobias (social, motion pain and spiders), eating disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), gambling disorder, preoperative anxiety and schizophrenia.
The hallucinogenic drugs evaluated exhibited positive effects in treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders, alcohol dependence and PTSD. More research is needed in order to test the effectiveness of these therapies (alone or together) in different mental illnesses and different populations.
致幻物质或迷幻药物在全球范围内已被人类使用了数百年，由于它们对精神疾病具有治疗潜力，人们对其兴趣与日俱增。虚拟现实（VR）在过去十年中得到了高度发展和改进，因其作为治疗工具的潜力也日益受到重视。在本文中，重点介绍了关于VR和迷幻剂医学应用的最新及相关信息，并探讨了各种潜在的治疗用途，以期为该主题的进一步研究奠定基础。
使用PRISMA方法在PubMed、Medline、Embase、Cochrane图书馆、Scopus和科学网进行了系统的文献综述，仅纳入以英文撰写的、经过同行评审的临床试验或病例研究，这些研究涉及使用迷幻剂和/或VR治疗精神疾病并衡量治疗的成功率。本系统综述最终选用了23篇手稿。
VR在治疗特殊类型的恐惧症（社交、运动疼痛和蜘蛛恐惧症）、饮食失调、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）、赌博障碍、术前焦虑和精神分裂症方面显示出安全性和显著疗效。
所评估的致幻药物在治疗抑郁和焦虑障碍、酒精依赖和PTSD方面表现出积极效果。需要更多研究来测试这些疗法（单独或联合使用）在不同精神疾病和不同人群中的有效性。
