Observational studyAddiction (Abingdon, England)2022
Safety of ibogaine administration in detoxification of opioid-dependent individuals: a descriptive open-label observational study.
Observational study in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- The therapeutic effects of psychedelics for opioid use disorder: A systematic review of clinical studies.Psychiatry research · 2025Pooled it
- Identifying setting factors associated with improved ibogaine safety: a systematic review of clinical studies.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- Ibogaine/Noribogaine in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature.Current neuropharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Ibogaine for Substance Use Disorders.Advances in therapy · 2026Review
- Adverse Health Outcomes of Psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, Ibogaine, and 5-MeO-DMT.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Rare but relevant: Ibogaine and cardiovascular complications-prolonged QT interval and ventricular arrhythmias.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Review
- Psychedelics and Autism Therapy: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Clinical improvement following an integrative iboga microdosing protocol in post-concussive and hypoxic brain injury syndromes: a case series.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Psychedelics and Ibogaine "Pain Medications" at the Pharmacy Counter: Implications for Pharmacy Practice.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in treating substance use disorders.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Review
- Old Dog, New Tricks: Ibogaine and Its Analogs as Potential Neurotherapeutics.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2025Article
- Psychedelic Drugs in Mental Disorders: Current Clinical Scope and Deep Learning-Based Advanced Perspectives.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Review
- Effects of psychedelics on opioid use disorder: a scoping review of preclinical studies.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025Article
- The contribution of psychotherapy in potential therapeutic effects of psychedelics for treatment of opioid use disorder.Current addiction reports · 2025Article
- From taboo to treatment: The emergence of psychedelics in the management of pain and opioid use disorder.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2024Review
- Article
- The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ibogaine in opioid use disorder patients.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Catharanthine Modulates Mesolimbic Dopamine Transmission and Nicotine Psychomotor Effects via Inhibition of α6-Nicotinic Receptors and Dopamine Transporters.ACS chemical neuroscience · 2024Article
- A transcriptomic analysis in mice following a single dose of ibogaine identifies new potential therapeutic targets.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- Psychedelic therapies reconsidered: compounds, clinical indications, and cautious optimism.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsIbogaine is an indole alkaloid used in rituals of the African Bwiti tribe. It is also used in non-medical settings to treat addiction. However, ibogaine has been linked to several deaths, mainly due to cardiac events called torsades des pointes preceded by QTc prolongation as well as other safety concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the cardiac, cerebellar and psychomimetic safety of ibogaine in patients with opioid use disorder.
designA descriptive open-label observational study.
settingDepartment of psychiatry in a university medical center, the Netherlands.
participantsPatients with opioid use disorder (n = 14) on opioid maintenance treatment with a lasting wish for abstinence, who failed to reach abstinence with standard care. INTERVENTION AND MEASUREMENTS: After conversion to morphine-sulphate, a single dose of ibogaine-HCl 10 mg/kg was administered and patients were monitored at regular intervals for at least 24 hours assessing QTc, blood pressure and heart rate, scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA) to assess cerebellar side effects and the delirium observation scale (DOS) to assess psychomimetic effects.
findingsThe maximum QTc (Fridericia) prolongation was on average 95ms (range 29-146ms). Fifty percent of subjects reached a QTc of over 500ms during the observation period. In six out 14 subjects prolongation above 450ms lasted beyond 24 hours after ingestion of ibogaine. No torsades des pointes were observed. Severe transient ataxia with inability to walk without support was seen in all patients. Withdrawal and psychomimetic effects were mostly well-tolerated and manageable (11/14 did not return to morphine within 24 hours, DOS scores remained below threshold).
conclusionsThis open-label observational study found that ibogaine treatment of patients with opioid use disorder can induce a clinically relevant but reversible QTc prolongation, bradycardia, and severe ataxia.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.