A mushroom compound stopped chemo nerve damage in mice

A compound found in psilocybin mushrooms prevented chemotherapy nerve damage in mice, according to a study published in Science on September 3. Two doses given shortly before treatment stopped the animals from developing the pain hypersensitivity that plagues up to 70 percent of chemotherapy patients. There is currently no effective treatment for the condition, which leaves lasting numbness in the hands and feet.

The finding came as a surprise. When a researcher in his lab reported that treated mice showed no nerve damage, study co-author Moran Amit of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center told her, "I don't believe you. Do it again." She did, across different tumors and chemotherapy drugs. The mice never developed neuropathy.

The compound appears to keep mitochondria moving along nerve fibers, work cisplatin normally disrupts. A mid-stage human trial launches in November. It is slated to run about four years.