On July 14, 2026, the newspaper *Expresso* published a report on a pilot study by Imperial College London that evaluated the therapeutic potential of psilocybin in the treatment of anorexia nervosa—a study in which a Portuguese researcher is participating. Frederico Magalhães, a psychiatrist and researcher at Imperial College, is one of the authors of the study, which was published in the *British Journal of Psychiatry*.
A disease with no effective treatment
Anorexia nervosa remains one of the most difficult psychiatric disorders to treat. There is no approved medication for the condition; about one-third of patients develop chronic forms of the disorder; and the mortality rate is the highest among all psychiatric disorders—primarily due to suicide. One of the biggest obstacles to treatment, Frederico Magalhães explains to Expresso, is that many people—especially in the early stages of the disease—“do not recognize” the problem, which hinders adherence to treatment and motivation for recovery.
What the study showed
The study involved 21 women, aged 23 to 52, who received three doses of psilocybin over the course of six weeks, as part of a protocol that included psychological support before and after each session. The participants were followed for one year. At the six-month mark, significant improvements were observed in symptoms of eating disorders—including food restriction and concerns about weight and body image—as well as in motivation for recovery. The study also found a marked reduction in so-called “precontemplation”—the stage in which a person “is not yet thinking about changing”—which is considered a reliable predictor of future behavioral change.
How can psilocybin help?
One of the proposed explanations relates to the cognitive rigidity that often characterizes anorexia. According to Frederico Magalhães, neuroimaging studies suggest that psilocybin may cause a temporary reorganization of brain activity, “reducing the rigidity of habitual patterns and increasing communication between regions of the brain that normally interact less with one another.” In anorexia, this openness can make emotions, memories, and bodily sensations—which the person usually filters out—accessible, making room for new perspectives on themselves and on the illness.
Promising results, but still preliminary
The authors highlight the study’s limitations: a small sample size, the absence of a control group, and significant variability in the progression of symptoms among participants. Nevertheless, Frederico Magalhães’ assessment is positive: “We are dealing with a population of people who, on average, had had the disease for 11 years and who, from the outset, would have been at high risk of chronicity. And a large proportion of these people improved significantly with this treatment.” Larger randomized clinical trials are already in the works.
The psychiatrist also argues that the possibility of earlier access to psilocybin therapy for patients with chronic anorexia and severe distress should be discussed—always within a clinical setting and with specialized monitoring—similar to what already occurs in oncology with promising treatments still in the experimental phase.
The article was originally published in Expresso on July 14, 2026. You can read the full article HERE.
