The short answerIn a Stanford Medicine study published in Nature Medicine in January 2024, 30 special operations veterans received a single treatment of ibogaine with magnesium. One month later, PTSD symptoms had fallen by an average of 88%, depression by 87% and anxiety by 81%, with no serious side effects. There was no control group, so larger trials are still needed.
When people ask us why we fund psychedelic-assisted treatment, this study is usually where the conversation starts. It's worth understanding properly, including the parts that don't make headlines.
Who was in it
The study followed 30 male veterans of U.S. special operations, all with a history of traumatic brain injury, most of it mild, and repeated exposure to blasts. They weren't recruited into a clinic. They had already booked treatment on their own at a clinic in Mexico run by Ambio Life Sciences, and Stanford researchers assessed them before and after.
This was a group carrying a heavy load. Before treatment, 23 met the criteria for PTSD, 14 for an anxiety disorder and 15 for alcohol use disorder. Nineteen had been suicidal at some point in their lives, and seven had attempted suicide.
How the treatment worked
Each man took oral ibogaine, a psychoactive compound from the root bark of the central African iboga shrub. Because ibogaine can disrupt heart rhythm, they were also given magnesium, which helps protect the heart, and were monitored throughout. The treatment sat inside a broader program at the clinic.
What changed
| Measure | Before | One month after |
|---|---|---|
| Disability (WHODAS 2.0) | 30.2, mild to moderate | 5.1, no disability |
| PTSD symptoms | Baseline | 88% lower on average |
| Depression symptoms | Baseline | 87% lower on average |
| Anxiety symptoms | Baseline | 81% lower on average |
Formal cognitive testing also showed improvements in concentration, information processing, memory and impulsivity. A follow-up paper in Nature Mental Health in 2025 analyzed brain imaging and EEG from the same veterans to understand why.
What about safety?
No serious side effects were reported, and none of the 30 men had the heart problems that have been linked to ibogaine elsewhere. They did report typical effects during treatment, such as headaches and nausea.
That result matters, but it doesn't mean ibogaine is risk-free. These men were screened, given magnesium and medically monitored. That's exactly the point. We've written a full guide to ibogaine safety here.
What the study didn't show
- There was no control group. Everyone got the treatment, and everyone knew it. Some of the improvement could come from expectation, the retreat setting or the other therapies offered.
- It was small. Thirty people is a strong signal, not the final word.
- All participants were men, all were special operations veterans, and all chose the treatment themselves.
- The main results are at one month. We need to know how long the benefits last.
The researchers say as much themselves, and call for larger, controlled trials. We agree.
Why it matters to us
Ambio Life Sciences, the clinic in this study, is one of our clinical partners. The study shaped how we think about funding: screening first, magnesium and cardiac monitoring during treatment, real aftercare once people are home, and measuring results before and after. Every person we fund takes part in that follow-up, so that over time we can add Canadian data to what's known.
- Cherian KN, et al. Magnesium-ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries. Nature Medicine, 2024.
- Stanford Medicine. Psychoactive drug ibogaine effectively treats traumatic brain injury in special ops military vets.
- Follow-up analysis in Nature Mental Health, 2025.
We fund treatment at the clinic whose protocol Stanford studied, and we track every outcome.