New Studies
the use of Hoasca in diverse situations
The results obtained in the evaluations of the Hoasca Project encouraged researchers to develop new studies. There is interest in continuing the investigation of the medical aspects of Hoasca to clarify questions raised in the results and evaluate new aspects.

Seratonin Receptors

The study by Jayce Callaway, PhD., from the University of Kuopio in Finland, indicated an increase in the number of seratonin platelet receptors. These results are unusual in mentally healthy individuals. To verify if Hoasca tea is the causal factor, Callaway will conduct a new study that will analyze how the seratonin receptors behave in long-term users that stop drinking Hoasca tea for a period of six weeks, then return to drinking it regularly

Follow up to the Hoasca Project of 1993

The principal researchers of the Hoasca Project (1993)- Callaway, Grob, and McKenna- have developed a research proposal to evaluate the same 15 individuals that were studied in 1993, and possibly new groups as well. Among their objectives, they plan to evaluate the subjects' psychological profiles, neuropsychiatric profiles, neuroreceptor profiles and immune system responses as well as electro-cardiograms and electro-encephalograms.

Recovery of Alcoholics and Drug Addicts

The results of the psychiatric evaluation of the Hoasca Project indicated that individuals previously addicted to alcohol might be recuperated after beginning to consume Hoasca tea regularly. To evaluate the therapeutic possibility of the tea in the recuperation of alcoholics and drug addicts, researchers from the Paulista School of Medicine/Federal University of São Paulo and the University of California (UCLA), proposed a study in which the ritualistic use of Hoasca by alcoholics will be evaluated as a possible treatment. This study is still under institutional review within the UDV, as well as being evaluated from an ethical viewpoint.

Effects of Hoasca during Pregnancy

A group of health professionals within the UDV in cooperation with DEMEC carried out a retrospective pilot study in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará. The study's objective was to investigate the effects of Hoasca tea during pregnancy and in the development of children born of mothers who drank the tea during pregnancy. Through interviews, questionnaires and tests, the study sought to establish the occurrence of obstetric pathologies among pregnant women. The study also evaluated the neuropsychomotor development of the children born from those pregnancies. The results obtained need critical methodological evaluation and adequate statistical treatment in order to be published

Adolescents

A study is being conducted by Dr. Charles Grob from UCLA in collaboration with the Federal University of São Paulo (Paulista School of Medicine) to determine if use of Hoasca tea harms the emotional, moral, psychological, and social development of adolescents that participate in the UDV. In three Brazilian cities, Brasilia, Campinas, and São Paulo, approximately 45 adolescents from the UDV are being evaluated with neuropsychological tests, personal interviews and group dynamics. The field research, as well as the results of the study, are expected to be completed near the end of 2001.

Discípulo batendo Mariri que, macerado, libera a seiva para o cozimento.
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