American scientists are testing ketamine, which is commonly used as an anesthetic, to treat persistent resistant depression in children.
It was found that the drug relieves patients of symptoms faster than standard antidepressants, and the effect of the use lasts longer. According to a new study, children with depression who could not be treated with pills were finally able to overcome their symptoms with ketamine injections. Scientists from the University of Michigan, USA, found this out. Experts assure that ketamine can be safely used to treat childhood depression, and in the future it may become a more effective alternative to antidepressants.
The drug ketamine is commonly used as an anesthetic. In the study, thirteen adolescents aged 12 to 18 received injections of the drug in certain doses for two weeks. As a result, 40 percent of them went into remission.
Although ketamine can be addictive, the use of small doses in the treatment of mental health problems is gaining momentum, in part because the drug relieves patients of symptoms faster than standard treatment regimens. Also, according to the study, the effect of ketamine in the treatment of depression lasts longer.
"We are interested in a potentially new treatment for persistent, 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.
