Treating drug dependence with the aid of ibogaine: A retrospective study

Introduction

Schenberg and colleagues situate their work within the larger public‑health problem of substance use disorders, noting that effective pharmacological treatments remain limited for many types of dependence, particularly psychostimulant dependence. They outline ibogaine as a naturally occurring alkaloid with long‑lasting psychoactive effects that has been proposed, on the basis of case reports, animal studies and an informal medical subculture, to reduce craving and drug self‑administration for opioids and other substances. The introduction highlights safety concerns reported in uncontrolled settings, especially reports of fatalities possibly linked to QT interval prolongation and comorbid medical conditions, and emphasises that evidence for ibogaine in treating stimulants such as cocaine and crack is scarce despite promising preclinical data. This study set out to assess the safety and therapeutic outcomes of a physician‑supervised ibogaine programme practised in Brazil for dependence on non‑opioid substances. Using a retrospective design, the investigators aimed to describe adverse events, abstinence and relapse patterns after one or more ibogaine HCl administrations combined with psychotherapy in a residential treatment context, and to evaluate whether medically supervised administration could avoid the complications reported from underground use.