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Alcohol Use DisorderPhase 2NCT05416229

Psilocybin-assisted Therapy for Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

A Phase 2 study testing Psilocybin and Maltodextrin in people with Alcohol Use Disorder, run by Anders Fink-Jensen, MD, DMSci at 1 site in Denmark.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Note: The trial is only eligible for citizens of Denmark. The purpose of this project is to assess the treatment efficacy of a single high dose of psilocybin administered within a protocol of psychological support to patients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 20 to 70 years
Conditions the study is for
Alcohol Use Disorder
What is being tested?
Psilocybin and Maltodextrin
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
60 participants
Where
1 siteDenmark
Study dates
1 Sep 2023to 22 Dec 2025
Phase
Phase 2
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 20 to 70 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Bodyweight of 50-110 kg
  • AUD according to DSM-5 criteria and alcohol dependence according to ICD-10.
  • AUD Identification Test (AUDIT) ≥ 15.
  • ≥ 5 heavy drinking days in the past 28 days prior to inclusion.

Who cannot join

  • Current or previously diagnosed with any psychotic disorder or bipolar affective disorder.
  • Immediate family member with a diagnosed psychotic disorder.
  • History of delirium tremens or alcohol withdrawal seizures.
  • History of suicide attempt or present suicidal ideation at screening.
  • Withdrawal symptoms at screening (>nine on the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol Scale, Revised (CIWA-Ar) (43).
  • Present or former severe neurological disease including trauma with loss of consciousness > 30 min.
Show all 15Show fewer
  • Impaired hepatic function (alanine transaminase >210/135 units/l men/women)
  • Cardiovascular disease defined as decompensated heart failure (NYHA class III or IV), unstable angina pectoris, myocardial infarction within the last 12 months or uncontrolled hypertension (systolic blood pressure >165 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure >95 mmHg).
  • Present or former abnormal QTc (>450/470 ms men/women).
  • Treatment with disulfiram, naltrexone, acamprosate and nalmefene within 28 days of inclusion.
  • Treatment with any serotonergic medication or drugs within one month prior inclusion.
  • Any oOther active substance use disorders (except nicotine) defined as a Drug Use Disorder Identification Test score >six/two (men/women) and investigator's clinical evaluation.
  • Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or intend to become pregnant or are not using adequate contraceptive measures considered highly effective (44).
  • Unable to speak or understand Danish.
  • Any other condition that the clinician estimates can interfere with trial participation.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Denmark1 site
  • Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Frederiksberg Hospital

    Frederiksberg, 2000

Other trials in Denmark

About this study

Official title: The QUANTUM Trip Trial - Psilocybin-assisted Therapy for Reducing Alcohol Intake in Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized, Double-blinded, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial.

Note: The trial is only eligible for citizens of Denmark.

The purpose of this project is to assess the treatment efficacy of a single high dose of psilocybin administered within a protocol of psychological support to patients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Read the detailed description

To establish efficacy, we will investigate a single dose of psilocybin versus placebo in a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled 12 weeks clinical trial. 90 patients, aged 20-70 years, diagnosed with alcohol use disorder and treatment seeking will be recruited from the community via advertisement and referrals from general practitioners and hospital units. The psilocybin or placebo is administered within a protocol of psychological support before, during and after the dosing. Outcome assessments will be carried out one, four, eight- and 12 weeks post dosing. The primary outcome is reduction in the percentage of heavy drinking days from baseline to follow-up at 12 weeks. Key secondary outcomes include 1) phosphatidyl-ethanol as an objective biomarker for alcohol consumption 2) plasma psilocin, the active metabolite, to establish a possible therapeutic range and 3) the acute subjective drug experience as a possible predictor of treatment outcome. Furthermore, we will investigate the neurobiological underpinnings of the possible treatment effects by use of functional magnetic resonance brain imaging one week post dosing.

Keywords
psilocybin, alcohol dependence, addiction, randomized controlled trial, brain imaging
Medical subject headings
Alcoholism, Behavior, Addictive

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

Study groups in NCT05416229
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Psilocybin-assisted therapyExperimental45 patients will receive a single administration of 25mg psilocybin given in a protocol of psychological support before, during and after dosing.
Receives: Drug: Psilocybin
Placebo-assisted therapyPlacebo comparator45 patients will receive a single administration of placebo (lactose) given in a protocol of psychological support before, during and after dosing.
Receives: Drug: Maltodextrin

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in percentage of heavy drinking days

    Heavy drinking is defined as days with five drinks/60 grams of alcohol or more for men, four drinks/48 grams of alcohol or more for women. Data will be collected using the Timeline Followback Method (TLFB) which is a widely used, calendar-based retrospective measure of self-reported use of alcohol. The number of days drinking assessed is 28 days.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

Secondary outcomes (23)
  1. Change in total alcohol consumption

    Total grams of alcohol consumed per day as measured by TLFB.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  2. Change in days of abstinence

    Percentage of days without any alcohol consumption as measured by TLFB.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  3. Change in phosphatidyl-ethanol (PEth)

    PEth is formed only in the presence of alcohol and is correlated with the amount of alcohol consumed the past month. PEth concentrations will be measured by peripheral blood test.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  4. Change in Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)

    AUDIT is a 10-item questionnaire that measures alcohol use. The score range is 0-40, with higher scores indicating a more problematic use of alcohol.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  5. Change in Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) score

    PACS is a 40-item questionnaire that measures alcohol craving severity. The score range is 0-30, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  6. Change in Alcohol Abstinence Self-efficacy Scale (AASE) score

    AASE is a 40-item questionnaire that measures two scales: the temptation to drink and the confidence in the ability to avoid drinking. The score range for each scale is 0-80, with higher score indicating greater temptation or confidence, respectively.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  7. Change in Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND)

    FTND is a 6-item questionnaire that measures the quantity of cigarette consumption, the compulsion to use, and dependence. The score range is 0-10, with higher scores indicating a more severe dependence.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  8. Change in Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT)

    DUDIT is an 11-item questionnaire that measures drug use. The score range is 0-44, with higher scores indication a more problematic use.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  9. Change in Major Depression Inventory (MDI)

    MDI is a 12-item questionnaire that measures depression severity. The score range is 0-50, with higher scores indicating greater severity.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  10. Change in Short-Form 36 (SF-36)

    SF-36 is a 36-item questionnaire that measures the quality-of-life. The score range is 0-100, with higher scores indicating better health status.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  11. Change in Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)

    MAAS is a 15-item scale that measures core characteristic of mindfulness. The score range is 1-6, with higher scores indicating greater mindfulness.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  12. Change in Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ)

    AAQ is a 7-item questionnaire that measures psychological flexibility. The score range is 7-49, with higher scores indicating lesser flexibility.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  13. Change in NEO-Personality Inventory (NEO-PI=

    The NEO-PI is a 240-item personality instrument that measures the five factors in the Five Factor Model. It consists of 30 eight-item facet scales, 6 for each of the five basic personality factors: Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), Openness (O), Agreeableness (A), and Conscientiousness (C), rated by use of a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  14. Persisting Effects Questionnaire (PEQ)

    PEQ is a 143-item scale aiming to assess changes in attitudes, moods, behavior, and spiritual experience

    Measured: Week 12

  15. Neuroplasticity and inflammation

    Neuroplasticity and inflammation as measured by mean concentrations of plasma serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and plasma cytokines, respectively.

    Measured: Baseline to week 12

  16. Subjective effects of psilocybin: Subjective Drug Intensity (SDI)

    SDI will be regularly assessed asking the patients "how intense is the experience right now" on a 0-10 Likert scale where 0 = not intense at all, 10 = very intense.

    Measured: 0-6 hours post dosing

  17. Pharmacokinetics- and dynamics of psilocybin

    Pharmacokinetics- and dynamics of plasma psilocin, serum BDNF and plasma cytokines, as determined by concentration-time curves of mean plasma concentrations

    Measured: 0 - 6 hours post dosing

  18. Subjective effects of psilocybin: Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ)

    MEQ is a 30-item questionnaire that measures experiential aspects of psilocybin. The patients are asked to rate the items on a 6-point scale going from 0= none; not at all to 5=extreme; more than ever before in my life and stronger than 4.

    Measured: Completed once the effects are fully subsided or at least 6 hours after dosing

  19. Subjective effects of psilocybin: 5-Dimensional Altered State of Consciousness scale (5D-ASC)

    5D-ASC is a 94-item questionnaire that measures experiential aspects of psilocybin. The patients are asked to rate the items by placing marks on a horizontal visual analogue scale (100 millimeters in length) going from "no, not more than usual" (on the left) to "yes, very much more than usual" (on the right).

    Measured: Completed once the effects are fully subsided or at least 6 hours after dosing

  20. Subjective effects of psilocybin: Ego Dissolution Inventory (EDI)

    EDI is a 8-item questionnaire that measures the experiential aspects of psilocybin. The patients are asked to rate the items by placing marks on a horizontal visual analogue scale (100 millimeters in length) going from "no, not more than usual" (on the left) to "yes, very much more than usual" (on the right).

    Measured: Completed once the effects are fully subsided or at least 6 hours after dosing

  21. Subjective effects of psilocybin: Emotional Breakthrough Inventory (EBI)

    EBI is a 6-item questionnaire that measures the experiential aspects of psilocybin. The patients are asked to rate the items by placing marks on a horizontal visual analogue scale (100 millimeters in length) going from "no, not more than usual" (on the left) to "yes, very much more than usual" (on the right).

    Measured: Completed once the effects are fully subsided or at least 6 hours after dosing

  22. Subjective effects of psilocybin: Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S)

    AWE-S is a 30-item questionnaire that measures the experiential aspects of psilocybin. The patients are asked to rate the items on a 7-point scale going from 1= Strongly Disagree to 7= Strongly Agree.

    Measured: Completed once the effects are fully subsided or at least 6 hours after dosing

  23. Brain imaging

    The blood-oxygen-level-dependent differences between the two treatment arms with respect to resting-state functional connectivity, alcohol vs neutral cue-reactivity within mesocorticolimbic pathways and habitual vs goal-directed activity within corticostriatal pathways

    Measured: 1 week post dosing

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted13 Jun 2022
  2. Study start1 Sep 2023
  3. Primary completion22 Dec 2025
  4. Study completion22 Dec 2025

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
single-centre, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, 1:1 parallel-group clinical trial
Masking
Quadruple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
60 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05416229
Sponsor's protocol ID
PSILO4ALCO-TRIAL
Status last verified
Mar 2026
First submitted
30 May 2022
Last updated
24 Mar 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: All of the individual participant data collected during the trial, after deidentification.

Publications

  • Jensen ME, Stenbaek DS, Juul TS, Fisher PM, Ekstrom CT, Knudsen GM, Fink-Jensen A. Psilocybin-assisted therapy for reducing alcohol intake in patients with alcohol use disorder: protocol for a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled 12-week clinical trial (The QUANTUM Trip Trial). BMJ Open. 2022 Oct 14;12(10):e066019. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066019.

    PubMed 36241352

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2 study testing Psilocybin and Maltodextrin in people with Alcohol Use Disorder, run by Anders Fink-Jensen, MD, DMSci at 1 site in Denmark.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 15 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 24 Mar 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Denmark. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in percentage of heavy drinking days (time frame: Baseline to week 12). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05416229, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 24 Mar 2026.

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