Monday, June 23, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Australia approves psychedelics for medical use

Published 5 July 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Psilocybe semilanceata, or liberty cap, grows in many parts of the world, including northern Europe.
2 minute read

As of July 1, psychiatrists in Australia will be able to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin, which are found in psychedelic mushrooms. This makes Australia the first country to formally approve these drugs for medical treatment.

Both MDMA and psilocybin are classified as narcotics in Sweden and many other countries. Now, however, patients in Australia can be prescribed the substances as medicine for mental health problems, reports The Guardian. The country is the first in the world to approve the substances for clinical treatment.

Psilocybin is already formally legal in a few countries, including Brazil, Nepal and the Netherlands, but it is not used in medical or psychiatric settings. MDMA is currently under investigation for medical use in the United States, and is permitted for limited personal use in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Psychedelic substances, including psilocybin and MDMA, can exceptionally be distributed in Canada through a special application to the Ministry of Health. However, Australia will be the first country to allow the substances to be prescribed by doctors for treatment.

MDMA is primarily used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while psilocybin is primarily used to treat depression.

Mixed views on the decision

Psychology professor Susan Rossell, who is currently conducting a major study in Australia on depression and psilocybin, is “cautious” about the new legislation, saying that the medical studies are not yet comprehensive enough.

– We’ve got no data on long-term outcomes at all, so that worries me a lot, says Rossel in a comment to The Guardian.

But Dr. Mike Musker, a mental health researcher at the University of South Australia, calls it a success and “one of the biggest evolutions in psychiatry in the last 70 years”.

The role of MDMA in psychiatry has also been discussed in Sweden, including at a 2019 conference on the topic organized by the Network on Psychedelic Science, which was attended by several of the world’s leading researchers in the field. A so-called phase 3 trial at the University of California, published in Nature Medicine in 2021, for the treatment of patients with severe PTSD, including war veterans, has also prompted Gita Rajan, a doctor and PhD student at Karolinska Institutet, to plan a pilot study in Sweden. This study will investigate the effects of MDMA on her patient population of people suffering from PTSD after severe sexual violence.

MDMA increases the possibilities for treatment more than any other drug available today, Rajan said in a commentary on the study to taxpayer-funded SVT.

The Facts: MDMA and Psilocybin

Psilocybin is a substance found in mushrooms of the genus psilocybin that induces so-called psychedelic states of consciousness. Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions are greatly altered in a way that is often described as a spiritual experience. The substance belongs to the class of enteogens, traditional natural medicines with hallucinogenic properties used in psychotherapeutic and shamanistic contexts. In recent years, it has received widespread attention in the West for its potential healing effects, with warnings that careless use is very risky and can cause both panic attacks and psychotic episodes.

MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a central stimulant introduced in the early 1900s and originally used as a weight-loss drug. It is the psychoactive substance in the party drug known as "ecstasy," although in practice it is often a mixture of several different substances. MDMA affects the nervous system and, like psilocybin, can induce psychedelic states of consciousness. It is classified as an empathogen, which affects the state of mind rather than perception. It releases serotonin in the brain, usually causing intense euphoria and alertness, but can also cause hyperactivity, anxiety, and decreased self-control. Like psilocybin, it has attracted attention for its potentially medicinal effects, while also warning that careless use is very dangerous. Among other things, it can cause neurotoxic damage with symptoms such as persistent anxiety, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and depression.

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Social media feeds young people junk food ads

Published 10 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
A large majority of food advertisements that young people are exposed to promote unhealthy products such as fast food, snacks or sugar-sweetened drinks.
2 minute read

The majority of food advertising that young people encounter on social media promotes unhealthy products. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet, where TikTok is identified as the platform with the highest exposure.

The survey is based on data from young people aged 13-16 who, over the course of a week, documented the advertising they saw in their social media feeds. They were given a choice of platform, with most choosing Tiktok or Instagram.

One third of all the ads young people were exposed to were for food or drink – and 70% of these were for unhealthy products such as fast food, snacks or sugar-sweetened drinks.

Exposure was highest on Tiktok, where participants could encounter up to 26 food-related ads per hour. On Instagram, the average was 13.

– In focus group interviews, participants said they were often tempted to make impulse purchases by the design of the ads. At the same time, several expressed a feeling of powerlessness in the face of the amount of advertising they encounter daily, said Sofia Spolander, researcher at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge in a press release.

Childhood obesity doubled

In the focus group, the young people also described how the advertising affected them and increased their cravings for unhealthy food, and that it was difficult to resist consumption.

Overweight among Swedish children aged 11–15 has more than doubled in the past 30 years, and obesity in this age group has quadrupled, according to the study. Young people are eating more unhealthy food than before, while consuming fewer fruits and vegetables. Unhealthy eating habits are one of the leading causes of poor health and premature death in Sweden.

The food environment influences our eating habits, and marketing is an important part of that environment. This study shows that the advertising young people encounter on social media goes against the dietary guidelines, says Spolander.

The study forms the basis of a new report from UNICEF Sweden and the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, which highlights how advertising for food and drink in social media affects the health of children and young people.

Young dog owners’ lifestyles negatively affect their dogs

Published 3 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Today, many people get a pet to fit into their passive lifestyle - rather than adapting to the animal's needs themselves.
2 minute read

Stressed and overweight dog owners feel their lifestyle also impacts their dogs, according to a new Novus survey commissioned by Arken Zoo’s veterinary services. The effect is especially noticeable among younger owners, who report that their own health issues spill over onto their pets.

The survey, conducted between March and April 2025, gathered responses from 1,046 Swedish pet owners aged 18 to 84 about their own and their dog’s well-being. The results reveal a strong link between owner lifestyle and pet health.

Half of pet owners consider themselves overweight, with two in ten not exercising at all. A quarter of dog owners say they walk their dog for an hour a day at most, while 18% say their dog is overweight. Veterinarian Per Bransell says the results are “alarming”, but not surprising.

– Today, many people get an animal to fit into the owner’s lifestyle instead of the owner adapting to the animal. Getting a pet is a commitment every day, not just on weekends and holidays, he said in a press release.

Young adults struggle so do their dogs

Among pet owners aged 18 to 34, 31% say they walk their dogs no more than an hour a day, and 23% report their pets are overweight.

Young owners also experience higher levels of stress: 42% see themselves as stressed, and 24% believe that stress affects their dogs. Staff at Hundstallet, a dog shelter that rehomes animals, say the survey aligns with what they see every day.

– People are increasingly unwell, and it has a direct impact on animals. We see a clear rise in dogs arriving in both poor physical and mental condition — often depressed, lacking proper veterinary care or stimulation, says Johnny Kroneld, Head of Communications & Fundraising at Hundstallet.

Use of obesity drugs surges in Finland

Published 27 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Sales of obesity medication have skyrocketed in Finland in just a few years.
1 minute read

The use of obesity medication increased significantly in Finland last year – many more Finns were treated for obesity compared to 2023. At the same time, opinions are divided on the effectiveness of the treatment.

A total of 75,000 Finns used medicines for weight loss or obesity treatment in 2024. This is an increase of 20% compared to 2023, according to the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). In five years, the number of users has increased more than elevenfold.

Semaglutide, sold under brands such as Ozempic and Wegovy, is the most popular. Originally designed as a drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, this type of medicine is not reimbursed if it is used for obesity alone. This means that Finns have to foot the bill themselves, which can be over €260 each month.

It is also unclear how effective this type of weight loss medication really is, but Pia Pajunen, an expert physician at Kela, says it is not a quick fix for losing weight.

If you stop using the obesity medication, the weight often starts to increase again quickly. It’s important that both doctors and patients are aware that research shows these medications generally need to be used long-term, she says in a press release.

Good fitness may prevent dementia

Published 27 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

People at risk of dementia can reduce their risk by improving their fitness, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet. The study shows that the risk can be reduced by up to 35%.

In the study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers used data from 61,214 dementia-free people, drawn from the UK Biobank database. The participants, who were aged between 39 and 70, were followed over a period of 12 years.

On enrollment, participants completed a six-minute cycle test to measure fitness, and neurological tests were done to estimate their cognitive function. The researchers also examined genetic predisposition to dementia.

During the 12-year follow-up period, a total of 553 people were diagnosed with dementia, representing 0.9%.

The results show that better fitness is linked to reduced dementia risk and improved cognitive function. According to Weili Xu, Professor of Geriatric Epidemiology in the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, good fitness can reduce the risk of all forms of dementia by up to 35%.

– Our findings suggest that maintaining good fitness may be a strategy for preventing dementia, even among people with high genetic susceptibility, she says in a press release.

The researchers also emphasize that this is an observational study, so it is not possible to determine cause and effect. The number of dementia cases may also have been underestimated, they add, as UK Biobank participants are generally healthier than the general population.

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