The drug ketamine acts quickly on depression and significantly improves mood.
The most recent research on ketamine and expert testimony on its use, published in April, shows that the drug works quickly, significantly improves mood and helps people when other treatments fail, reports WebMD.
However, research data is insufficient and availability of the drug is limited.
MedOboz publishes the most frequently asked questions about ketamine.
What is ketamine?
Ketamine is a pain-blocking drug. It first appeared in the 1960s and was used to control soldiers during the Vietnam War. Ketamine is also known as a tranquilizer for animals.
It wasn't until 2000 that researchers began studying ketamine as a treatment for depression. Over the years, scientists have discovered that it improves mood much faster than traditional antidepressants and works when other antidepressants are ineffective.
What is ketamine antidepressant?
The drug is approved as an anesthetic for surgeries and diagnostic procedures. It is also used to treat depression, suicidality, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other central nervous system disorders.
Where can I get ketamine?
For the most part, ketamine is provided in clinical trials in the United States, and in 12 states in special clinics.
In Ukraine, this is a drug that is sold only to medical organizations and is a drug from list A
How is ketamine taken?
Ketamine is usually administered intravenously, which is the fastest route for the drug to reach the brain. Typically, about 6 doses of the drug are prescribed per day for 1 to 2 weeks, followed by booster doses every 3 to 5 weeks. Treatment may require a year or more to see lasting results.
How does it work?
Researchers don't know exactly how ketamine works as an antidepressant, but there is some evidence. Unlike antidepressants, which work by shifting the balance of brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine, ketamine is thought to change the way brain cells communicate with each other.
“If you compare it to a computer, ketamine is a hardware fix, not a software fix,” says Glen Brooks, MD, an anesthesiologist and medical director of NY Ketamine Infusions.
Ketamine blocks a type of receptor in the brain known as NMDA, which is thought to play a “major” role in depression. Recent research suggests that ketamine may have long-lasting effects on depression, although the drug remains in the body for a short time.
Кетамин также действует на другие рецепторы мозга – опиоидные рецепторы, которые влияют на боль и депрессию. “Я думаю, что способность кетамина не просто поражать одну цель, например, NMDA, но и поражать другие рецепторы, которые создают ее уникальный эффект”, – говорит Рубен Абагян, доктор философии, профессор Калифорнийской школы фармации и фармацевтики UC San Diego Skaggs, который изучал использование кетамина при депрессии.
How well does the drug work?
Unlike antidepressants, which take weeks or months to take effect, ketamine produces positive effects within hours. For people with suicidal thoughts, this quick effect can be life-saving. Ketamine works effectively when other antidepressants fail.
Brooks says some of the patients he saw had been to multiple psychiatrists and tried half a dozen dozen medications. Many tried to commit suicide.
However, experts emphasize that ketamine is not a quick fix. The initial effect of the drug may disappear as suddenly as it appeared - within 1-3 days. Most people need repeated treatments over many months or years to see long-term improvements.
What are the side effects of taking the drug?
Immediately after receiving the drug, people often experience “dissociative” side effects. “Things may look and sound different than usual. Colors may appear washed out, or you may feel like you are looking down at your body. The feeling lasts about an hour and then disappears, but the drug continues to act,” experts say.
The drug may also cause a spike in blood pressure and heart rate in the short term. “For most people this is probably not a problem. This is the equivalent of walking up the stairs with a bag of groceries,” the researchers report. But it can be dangerous for people with heart disease.
Doctors don't know much about the long-term effects of ketamine because they haven't studied it for long periods of time. Research has linked regular ketamine use to memory problems and other thinking-related problems, but this does not appear to be the dose used to treat depression. Doctors also fear that the drug could lead to abuse, but this has not yet been proven.
Kiev center Expio is the first and only medical institution providing ketamine therapy in Ukraine.