American scientists are testing ketamine, which is commonly used as an anesthetic, to treat persistent, resistant depression in children.
The drug was found to relieve patients of symptoms faster than standard antidepressants, and the effect of its use lasts longer. According to a new study, children with depression who were not amenable to treatment with pills were finally able to overcome their symptoms with ketamine injections. This was found out by scientists from the University of Michigan, USA. Experts assure that ketamine can be safely used to treat childhood depression, and in the future it can become a more effective alternative to antidepressants.
Ketamine is a commonly used anesthetic. In the study, thirteen adolescents aged 12 to 18 were injected with the drug at specific doses over a two-week period. As a result, 40 percent of them went into remission.
Although ketamine can be addictive, its use in low doses to treat mental health problems is gaining momentum, in part because the drug relieves patients of symptoms more quickly than standard treatments, and the effects of ketamine for treating depression last longer, according to research.
“We are interested in a potentially novel treatment for persistent, treatment-resistant depression in adolescents, and look forward to additional studies of ketamine to confirm its efficacy,” said Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, in which the study was published.
The Kyiv Expio Center is the only medical institution that provides ketamine therapy in Ukraine.
