According to the Lancet Commission, mental health disorders are on the rise in every country worldwide, and the resulting lost productivity will cost the global economy $16 trillion by 2030. Yet, despite nearly two billion people with mental illness each year, these conditions are routinely misdiagnosed and inadequately treated.

MedXtractor Corp.’s (CSE: MXT) (OTC: MXTTF) SHAMAN and YMI programs apply machine learning to high-resolution health records to better diagnose mental health disorders. In addition, the company aims to predict what treatments are most effective in addressing these conditions, including psychedelics, which have shown tremendous promise in early clinical trials.

Let’s take a closer look at the challenges facing mental health treatments and how SHAMAN and psychedelics could play critical roles in improving them.

Mental Health Challenges

Mental health disorders affect a high percentage of the population. For example, mood and anxiety disorders affect nearly one-third of the U.S. population. In addition, a relatively high rate of people experiencing these conditions visit their primary care physician with physical complaints, like fatigue, creating an opportunity for diagnosis and treatment.

Despite the high prevalence of these disorders, few patients are accurately screened and diagnosed. For example, research shows that primary care physicians misdiagnosed 65.9% of patients with major depressive disorder, 92.7% of patients with bipolar disorder, 71% of patients with generalized anxiety disorder, and 97.8% of patients with social anxiety disorder.

Even if there’s an accurate diagnosis, many mental health treatments have less-than-desirable efficacy, and there can be significant side effects. Psychedelics could offer a better alternative for many patients. Still, years of prohibition have set back clinical trials, and there’s not a lot of information about how and when to administer these kinds of treatments.

Psychedelics Provide a Solution

Psychedelics have been used for thousands of years in religious ceremonies and as part of various cultures. These days, over 30 million people in the U.S. have used psychedelics for mystical experiences, curiosity, and introspection. The widespread use has made it clear that they don’t cause organ damage, withdrawal symptoms, or elicit compulsive use.

Researchers are just starting to uncover the potential for psychedelics to treat mental health disorders. For example, in a small study of adults with major depression, Johns Hopkins researchers found that two doses of psilocybin with psychotherapy produced rapid and significant reductions in depressive symptoms. Half of the participants were in complete remission through four weeks.

Despite the tremendous promise of psychedelics, there are no large-scale standardized clinical trials or data sources that clinicians can use to guide their patient decisions. Many studies thus far involve only a small number of participants and have a minimal focus without an eye toward mainstream applications at a clinical level.

Building the Data Backend

MedXtractor is leveraging machine learning to predict the impact of psychedelics and psychotropics on mental health disorders through its SHAMAN program. With extensive and ever-expanding validated data, the platform can provide high-resolution opinions on the probabilities related to many mental health afflictions.

Psychedelics and psychotropics and their potential application to mental health afflictions are SHAMAN’s initial target. In mid-June, the company announced that it has collected more than 400 complete reference records and is on track to reach its target of 500 complete reference records by June 30, 2021.

The company hopes to reach its Phase 3 target of 800 reference records by the end of August and launch the platform in December. In the meantime, management is focused on tight cost controls to keep project costs under budget while developing mHeath applications and their bio-extraction business operations.

Looking Ahead

Mental health disorders cost the global economy trillions of dollars each year, but screening, diagnosis, and treatment remain largely ineffective despite their prevalence. Psychedelics could play a role in turning around these trends, but clinicians require more data to properly diagnose patients and determine if psychedelic therapies are suitable for them.

MedXtractor Corp. (CSE: MXT) (OTC: MXTTF) is leveraging machine learning to garner insights from hundreds of complete medical records. Using these insights, the company hopes to provide high-resolution opinions on the probabilities related to many mental health afflictions.

Investors may want to take a closer look at the stock as it continues to collect complete reference records ahead of its launch late this year. For more information, visit the company’s website or download their investor presentation.

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About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.