---
title: Reduce depressive symptoms in Parkinsons
nct_id: NCT06455293
phase: PHASE2
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: Joshua Woolley, MD, PhD
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06455293"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06455293"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:03:30.516Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Reduce depressive symptoms in Parkinsons

**Goal (in five words):** Reduce depressive symptoms in Parkinsons

**Official Title:** The Efficacy of Psilocybin Therapy for Depression in Parkinson's Disease

**Trial ID:** [NCT06455293](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06455293)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** PHASE2
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** Joshua Woolley, MD, PhD
- **Target Enrollment:** 60 participants
- **Start Date:** 2024-08-19
- **Completion Date:** 2027-06
- **Conditions:** Parkinson Disease, Depression
- **Interventions:** Psilocybin
- **Intervention Types:** DRUG

## Summary For Families

The goal is to see if psilocybin can ease depression in people with Parkinson's, by loosening rigid negative thought patterns and shifting brain network activity that underlies mood. Participants receive a guided dose of psilocybin, a psychedelic that activates serotonin 2A receptors to briefly reset brain networks and support emotional processing; it does not directly increase dopamine or replace levodopa, though the team avoids combining it with drugs that affect serotonin. Eligible participants are age 40 to 80 with neurologist-diagnosed idiopathic Parkinson's at Hoehn and Yahr stages 1 to 3 in an "on" phase, currently experiencing depressive symptoms, able to attend UCSF visits, and managed by a provider, while people with psychotic symptoms, significant cognitive impairment, or regular use of meds that interact with psilocybin are excluded.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 40 Years
- **Maximum age:** 80 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

* Age 40 to 80
* Comfortable speaking and writing in English
* Have neurologist-diagnosed idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), Hoehn and Yahr stages 1 to 3 during an "on" phase (time when medication/DBS for parkinsonian motor feature, including bradykinesia and rigidity is in effect)
* Currently experiencing depressive symptoms
* Able to attend all in-person visits at UCSF as well as virtual visits
* Have a primary care provider, neurologist, or psychiatrist who is actively managing or coordinating

Exclusion Criteria:

* Psychotic symptoms involving loss of insight
* Significant cognitive impairment
* Regular use of medications that may have problematic interactions with psilocybin
* A health condition that makes this study unsafe or unfeasible, determined by study physicians
```

## Locations (1)

- University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States _(37.7749, -122.4194)_
  - Brigette Sosa — (CONTACT) — (415) 935-3489 — pdp2@ucsf.edu
  - Kimberly Sakai — (CONTACT) — pdp2@ucsf.edu
  - Joshua Woolley, MD,PhD — (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)
  - Ellen Bradley, MD — (SUB_INVESTIGATOR)

## Central Contacts

- Brigette Sosa — (CONTACT) — (415) 935-3489 — pdp2@ucsf.edu
- Ellen Bradley, MD — (CONTACT) — ellen.bradley@ucsf.edu

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06455293*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06455293*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06455293*