- Researchers at the University of Exeter have published a research review evaluating the value of ketamine in mental health therapy.
- The review of studies found that ketamine can quickly relieve depression and suicidal thoughts.
- The usefulness of ketamine for other mental health conditions is less clear.
- Since ketamine is an addictive opioid with strong dissociative properties, its use is not without risks.
Ketamine is primarily used by doctors as a general anesthetic for medical procedures during which a person must be unconscious, but muscle relaxation is not required. Ketamine is also a dissociative drug, and researchers have been exploring the use of subanesthetic doses of ketamine to treat depression for some time.
Researchers at the University of Exeter in the UK have reported that an analysis of existing studies confirms that ketamine therapy offers quick, short-term relief from depression and, to some extent, suicidal thoughts and other health symptoms mental.
Meta-analysis of 83 existing studies has evaluated the value of ketamine therapy for treating a wide range of mental health conditions. These studies include 29 randomized controlled trials, 21 observational studies, and 33 systematic reviews. According to the review authors:
“The current review integrates parallel reviews of emerging research on ketamine as a treatment for mental health conditions and related research related to ketamine’s therapeutic potential for general mental health.”
The study presents in the British Journal of Open Psychiatry. The team carried it out in collaboration with the University of British Columbia and with the support of the Society for the Study of Addiction.
The strongest effect studies document is the value of intravenous ketamine therapy in relieving depression.
There was a reduction in the severity of unipolar depression anywhere from 1 to 24 hours, and it lasted for 1 to 2 weeks. In comparison, oral doses took up to 2 weeks to take effect.
Relief from bipolar depression was also rapid, occurring as early as 4 hours after administration and consistently within 24 hours. The full effect lasted up to 3 days, with some relief still apparent after 7 days.
Studies also support the use of ketamine for the treatment of affective disorders and suicidal thoughts.
On suicidal ideation, co-author and Ph.D. from the University of Exeter. candidate Ozden Merve Mollaahmetoglu He said Today’s Medical News:
“It’s really interesting that there is some evidence of an effect on suicidal thoughts regardless of depressive symptoms, and it would be great to understand the mechanism of this effect. This finding is important because there is a risk of suicide in several mental health problems, so it would be interesting to see if we can treat suicidal thoughts in other conditions, such as substance use disorders.
Mollaahmetoglu also noted: “Since the effect of ketamine on suicidal thoughts was short-lived, it would also be important to determine how it can be extended, for example in combination with psychotherapy. We also do not know if multiple doses of ketamine are more effective than a single dose in reducing suicidal thoughts, as this has not been directly compared. “
Other research found some therapeutic benefit in the use of ketamine for other psychiatric disorders such as “post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and substance use disorders.” However, the authors write, “the evidence base comprised a small number of mostly non-randomized trials with often short follow-up periods, requiring corroboration and extension.”
The study emphasizes the importance of restricting the administration of ketamine, which is an opioid, to carefully controlled clinical circumstances.
Mollaahmetoglu said MNT:
“Ketamine is a very safe drug in a clinical setting. When people are given ketamine, we see mild increases in blood pressure and heart rate, which can be monitored and controlled in clinical settings. ” He also noted that people who might be at “increased risk for negative psychological reactions to ketamine, such as people with a personal or family history of schizophrenia, can be ruled out.”
Furthermore, in such an environment, “people receive preparation and psychological support during and after ketamine infusions, which probably reduces [the] risk of adverse psychological reactions. “
Finally, it is possible to protect people in a clinical setting from accidental injury and physical vulnerability due to the dissociative effect of ketamine. This effect promotes a “reduced awareness of one’s surroundings, incoordination, inability to communicate, and significantly decreased sensory input.”
Dr. Alan F. Schatzberg, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, said MNT that “whether, indeed, these drugs are effective enough to be worth it, has yet to be answered.”
Dr Schatzberg cautioned: “I have not seen enough real data to say that [have] I got a big winner there. “
His concern is that “ketamine works through an opioid mechanism, and ketamine in certain ways and in certain situations is highly addictive.”
Dr. Schatzberg also pointed out the difficulty of conducting blind and unbiased studies on the effect of ketamine on mental health due to the dissociation it produces because “a patient actually has an idea of what drug or placebo they received.” He recalled that in some approved esketamine trials, “they didn’t ask the patients, ‘Hey, do you think you have [the] Drug or placebo? ‘”
“The way the study frames it,” Dr. Schatzberg said, “is positive, positive, positive. But you know, you have to wonder when you’re dealing with something like ketamine. “
