LA JOLLA, Calif. (KGTV) — At Dr. David Feifel’s Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute clinic in La Jolla, patients come in with depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD and eating disorders.
But what sets this office apart is how these diagnoses are treated.
“I just felt that I wanted to create a center that focused on these advanced treatments that have expertise in these treatments and that also would be involved in developing the next generation of treatments," Dr. Feifel said.
He opened his clinic in 2017 and is excited for this new era in psychedelic research.
"We're picking up where we left off 30-40 years ago, and they are just looking very, very promising,” Dr. Feifel said.
One of the fastest-growing conditions his clinic sees is generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD.
"We see it especially growing among the youth and young females especially," Dr. Feifel said.
One of those patients is Lucas Hoffman, who’s battled GAD for years, trying treatment after treatment for several years, with no major benefits.
As part of Dr. Feifel's clinic, Hoffman joined a clinical trial for a new investigational drug called MM-120, a pharmaceutically optimized version of LSD.
“I came in that morning, I was a little late for the dosing session because I was dragging at home," Hoffman said. "I was pretty, pretty nervous,”
In a controlled environment, patients receive a single monitored dose.
“I really personally, and this cannot represent the expectation for any of you on the trial, I really did, feel a sense of freedom," Hoffman said. "I felt a breakthrough of some of the anxiety that was holding on so tightly to me.”
Early results are encouraging.
“This phase two study gave a single dose and found benefits within a day that lasted for 12 weeks," Dr. Feifel said. "So it's revolutionary when we compare it to the current standard for treatment.”
But more data is needed to bring it to the FDA's table. That’s why they’re in phase three now, and the clinic is looking for more patients.
“The overall hope for me is that [in] 5 or so years down the road, MM-120 is FDA approved, and this is something now that I have at my disposal to treat patients with this horrible condition," Dr. Feifel said.
To learn more about how you can join the final phase of the trial, click here.
