Press release evaluation
This question is based on a Press Release that was issued by the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology on December 10, 2015 entitled Active ingredient in magic mushrooms reduces anxiety and depression in cancer patients. – photo attached.
a.Evaluate this press release using the PROMPT criteria (see Block 1, Unit 2).
b.Has the study (identified in the press release) been published in a peer-reviewed journal? If so, locate the published paper, read its abstract, provide the full reference, and the number of times it has been cited to date. State where you obtained this information. What type of study design was used?
c.Was this the only study to have been published in the last decade that explored the use of psilocybin to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety or depression in cancer patients? If one or more previous studies have been published during this period (i.e. between 2009 and 2019), locate the article(s), read the abstract(s), provide the full reference(s), and the number of times these have been cited to date. State where you obtained this information.
d.From reading the abstracts of the articles you located in (b) and (c), is there consensus amongst published studies on whether this form of treatment is beneficial for cancer patients? How are therapeutic outcomes thought to be mediated according to the authors?
Reference: Griffiths, R. (2015) Active ingredient in magic mushrooms reduces anxiety and depression in cancer patients, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Press Release, December 10.