Researchers develop an LSD analogue with potential for treating schizophrenia
April 17, 2025
Greg Watry, UC Davis
University of California, Davis, researchers have developed a new, neuroplasticity-promoting drug closely related to LSD that harnesses the psychedelic’s therapeutic power with reduced hallucinogenic potential.
The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, highlights the new drug’s potential as a treatment option for conditions like schizophrenia, where psychedelics are not prescribed for safety reasons. The compound also may be useful for treating other neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases characterized by synaptic loss and brain atrophy.
To design the drug, dubbed JRT, researchers flipped the position of just two atoms in LSD’s molecular structure. The chemical flip reduced JRT’s hallucinogenic potential while maintaining its neurotherapeutic properties, including its ability to spur neuronal growth and repair damaged neuronal connections that are often observed in the brains of those with neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.
“Basically, what we did here is a tire rotation,” said corresponding author David E. Olson, director of the Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics and a professor of chemistry, and biochemistry and molecular medicine at UC Davis. “By just transposing two atoms in LSD, we significantly improved JRT’s selectivity profile and reduced its hallucinogenic potential.”
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https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/researchers-develop-lsd-analogue-potential-treating-schizophrenia
