#23 - Dr. Nolan Williams: Can Ibogaine Treat Traumatic Brain Injury?

Dr. Nolan Williams is an Associate Professor within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Director of the Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab. He is triple board-certified in general neurology, general psychiatry, as well as behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry. Dr. Williams joins Ibogaine Uncovered to discuss his recently published study, Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries. Published in Nature Medicine, it evaluates 30 Special Ops veterans with predominantly mild TBI who each independently scheduled themselves for ibogaine treatment at a center in Mexico, where they also engaged in activities like breathwork and yoga, and spoke with therapists and coaches. Don’t read too much into the word “mild” here – as you’ll hear from Dr. Williams, people suffering from TBI are more often than not also dealing with other health conditions including PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance use, and suicidality. Participants in the study were referred by Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS), a non-profit organization dedicated to ending veteran suicide.

What we discuss:

• Dr. Williams’ first impression of ibogaine: how he went from being skeptical to calling it “the most sophisticated pharmacological agent in the world”

• Why it was important for Dr. Williams to study ibogaine treatment on Special Ops veterans

• The changes Dr. Williams and his team witnessed in participants after they underwent ibogaine treatment

• The role of magnesium in the protocol and what his team was able to show as it relates to heart health during treatment

• What we know about the dreamlike state of consciousness facilitated by ibogaine

• Ibogaine as a “dirty drug” and the analogy of the modern key

• What Dr. Williams meant when he said ibogaine led to“a Benjamin-Buttoning of the brain,” and the implications of such a change for people with TBI and PTSD

• The study’s limitations

• Which other populations could potentially benefit from ibogaine treatment?

• The role of research in affecting drug policy

Why it’s important:

The first-of-its-kind neuroimaging study found that ibogaine could effectively treat TBI and PTSD in Special Ops veterans while improving cognitive function. Ibogaine treatment also reduced the veterans’ average rating on a disability assessment scale. Before treatment, the average rating of participants in the study indicated mild to moderate disability. A month later, their ratings indicated no disability. Remarkably, 88% experienced a reduction in PTSD symptoms, 87% experienced a reduction in depression symptoms, and 81% experienced a reduction in anxiety, while suicidal ideation decreased from 47% to 7% one month following treatment. All this to say, this new study led by Dr. Williams and conducted by his team at Stanford is playing a role in taking ibogaine out of the category of obscure psychedelic and placing it into the category of potential breakthrough therapy. The numbers speak for themselves, as does the mainstream media coverage of the publication. As Dr. Williams points out, research still has much to reveal about this powerful plant medicine, but for now, this study indicates that ibogaine could be a treatment option for a condition from which many people fail to find relief.

Relevant Links:

• Dr. Nolan Williams: Stanford Profile
• Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab
• Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries (Nature Medicine)
• Pre-post Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Ibogaine-Magnesium Therapy in Veterans With Repeated Blast Exposure (ClinicalTrials.gov)
• 0665 Ibogaine treatment in combat Veterans significantly improves sleep, beyond alleviating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder symptoms (Sleep Research Society)
• Psychedelic drug ibogaine shows preliminary promise for traumatic brain injury: Study (ABC News)
• How psychoactive drug ibogaine may help military veterans with traumatic brain injuries (Medical News Today)