In a new study from UBC Okanagan and the University of Exeter, researchers found ketamine is a potentially powerful tool in the fight against mental illness.
They found ketamine to have strong anti-depressant and anti-suicidal effects. They also found evidence that suggests its benefits don’t stop there.
The team arrived at this conclusion after analyzing more than 150 worldwide studies on the effects of sub-anesthetic ketamine doses for the treatment of mental illness.
They found strong evidence that indicates ketamine provides rapid and robust anti-depressant and anti-suicidal effects, but the effects were relatively short-lived.
However, repeated dosing appeared to have the potential to increase the duration of positive effects.
Beyond these results, the study provides evidence that suggests ketamine may be helpful in the treatment of other disorders, including eating disorders, problematic substance use, post-traumatic stress and anxiety—though the evidence in these areas is scarce.
The results signal that ketamine may indeed have a broader spectrum of potential applications in psychiatric treatment—and that tells us that more investigation is needed.
This study serves as a foundation for fellow researchers looking to design ketamine-related projects and offers valuable data for clinicians considering using ketamine with their patients.
The results also help to satisfy the public’s appetite for information on innovative and emerging psychiatric treatments.
The team says they need a lot more information on how these interventions could work—for example, administering the drug is only a part of treatment.
They need to figure out what amount and type of psychotherapy would best complement the drug intervention to really maximize potential benefits in the future work
If you care about depression, please read studies about a core feature of depression and findings of this health problem may double your depression risk.
For more information about depression and your health, please see recent studies that PTSD, anxiety, and depression may not be mental diseases, and results showing that one dose of this drug may lower anxiety and depression for 5 years.
The study is published in the British Journal of Psychiatry and was conducted by Psychology Professor Dr. Zach Walsh et al.
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