New Possibilities for Psychedelic Treatment in Neurodegenerative Disease

Department of Clinical Pharmacy Professor Patrick Finley, PharmD, played a key role in a multidisciplinary research team that uncovered surprising results in a UCSF study examining the effects of psilocybin on patients with Parkinson’s disease.

The pilot study, published in Neuropsychopharmacology, is the first to test a psychedelic in patients with a neurodegenerative disease, and its findings are sparking national attention for their potential to shift treatment paradigms. The psychedelic compound not only eased mood and cognitive symptoms, it also appeared to improve motor function.  

Finley’s expertise in psychiatric pharmacy was central to evaluating psilocybin’s safety and efficacy for mood disorders — a pressing concern in Parkinson’s, where depression and anxiety are both common and often resistant to conventional treatments.  

The study’s unexpected motor improvements suggest that psilocybin may support neuroplasticity and reduce inflammation, offering a new therapeutic path for a disease long lacking curative options. With a larger, multi-site clinical trial already underway, the research could mark the beginning of a new chapter in Parkinson’s care, and in the therapeutic use of psychedelics. 

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