Ketamine Therapy Research Articles & Clinical Insights
Peer-Reviewed Research on IV Ketamine & Spravato® for Depression, PTSD & Anxiety
Ketamine History, Mechanisms & Science
How Ketamine Works: 50 Years of Clinical Research and Brain Science
Ketamine was introduced into clinical practice in the 1960s and continues to be both clinically useful and scientifically fascinating. With considerably diverse molecular targets and neurophysiological properties, ketamine’s effects on the central nervous system remain incompletely understood. Investigators have leveraged the unique characteristics of ketamine to explore the invariant, fundamental mechanisms of anesthetic action. Emerging evidence indicates that ketamine-mediated anesthesia may occur via disruption of corticocortical information transfer in a frontal-to-parietal (“top down”) distribution. This proposed mechanism of general anesthesia has since been demonstrated with anesthetics in other pharmacological classes as well. Ketamine remains invaluable to the fields of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, in large part due to its ability to maintain cardiorespiratory stability while providing effective sedation and analgesia. Furthermore, there may be an emerging role for ketamine in treatment of refractory depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In this article, we review the history of ketamine, its pharmacology, putative mechanisms of action and current clinical applications.
Ketamine: From Anesthetic to Fast-Acting Antidepressant — 50 Years of Neurobiological Research
Over the past 50 years, ketamine has solidified its position in both human and veterinary medicine as an important anesthetic with many uses. More recently, ketamine has been studied and used for several new indications, ranging from chronic pain to drug addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder. The discovery of the rapid-acting antidepressant effects of ketamine has resulted in a surge of interest towards understanding the precise mechanisms driving its effects.
Ketamine as a Fast-Acting Antidepressant: Mechanisms, History, and Clinical Applications
Repurposing ketamine in the therapy of depression could well represent a breakthrough in understanding the etiology of depression. Ketamine was originally used as an anesthetic drug and later its use was extended to other therapeutic applications such as analgesia and the treatment of addiction. At the same time, the abuse of ketamine as a recreational drug has generated a concern for its psychotropic and potential long-term effects; nevertheless, its use as a fast acting antidepressant in treatment-resistant patients has boosted the interest in the mechanism of action both in psychiatry and in the wider area of neuroscience.
Does Dissociation Drive Ketamine’s Antidepressant Effects? What the Research Shows
Ketamine produces immediate antidepressant effects and has inspired research into next-generation treatments. Ketamine also has short term dissociative effects, in which individuals report altered consciousness and perceptions of themselves and their environment.
Ketamine for Depression
Ketamine Therapy Swiftly Reduces Depression and Suicidal Thoughts
Ketamine reduces symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts within four hours of a single treatment, and the effects last for up to two weeks. Additional treatments may prolong the effects, researchers say.
How an Integrative Approach to Ketamine Therapy Improves Outcomes in Treatment-Resistant Depression
Research over the last two decades has established ketamine as a safe, effective, fast-acting, and sustained antidepressant that significantly reduces adverse symptoms associated with depression, even in patients who are treatment resistant.
What Patients Say About Ketamine Therapy for Depression: The ‘Ketamine and Me’ Study
This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with 13 patients diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression who had received IV ketamine infusions. Researchers found that for the majority of participants, ketamine infusion produced an initial period of enhanced perception and dissociative experience, followed by a lifting of mood and meaningful reduction in suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms lasting approximately 3 to 6 days. Patients also reported increased motivation, socialization, and daily activity following treatment. All participants valued the therapeutic alliance with their clinical team as central to their treatment experience, and all advocated for expanded access to ketamine for patients who have not responded to other treatments. The study concludes that ketamine therapy can be life-transforming for some patients and represents a meaningful source of hope for those for whom conventional treatments have fallen short.
Ketamine for Bipolar Depression: Rapid Antidepressant and Antisuicidal Effects
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a psychiatric illness associated with high morbidity, mortality and suicide rate. It has neuroprogressive course and a high rate of treatment resistance. Hence, there is an unquestionable need for new BD treatment strategies. Ketamine appears to have rapid antidepressive and antisuicidal effects. Since most of the available studies concern unipolar depression, here we present a novel insight arguing that ketamine might be a promising treatment for bipolar disorder.
Ketamine for PTSD & Trauma
Ketamine for PTSD: Clinical Evidence From a Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study
In this double blind, placebo-controlled cross over study, a single dose of Ketamine (.5mg/kg over 40 minutes) was compared to midazolam. Authors note a significant immediate reduction in the CAPS score and frequently this reduction was maintained for over 2 weeks. The only side effects noted were transient dissociative symptoms, none of which required stopping the infusion.
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Trauma and PTSD: Real-World Outpatient Results
Trauma exposure across the lifespan produces risks for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, as well as global disability in functioning. This retrospective clinical chart review is the first of its kind to assess the utility of sublingual ketamine-assisted body-centered psychotherapy in trauma-exposed patients in a real world clinic setting.
Ketamine & Psychotherapy Integration
Does Adding Psychotherapy to Ketamine Treatment Improve Outcomes? A Systematic Review
Ketamine is an effective short-term treatment for a range of psychiatric disorders. A key question is whether the addition of psychotherapy to ketamine treatment improves outcomes or delays relapse.
Ketamine and Psychotherapy Together: The Clinical Case for a Combined Approach
Ketamine is a dissociative drug that has been used medically since the 1970s primarily as an anesthetic agent but also for various psychiatric applications. Anecdotal reports and clinical research suggest substantial potential for ketamine as a treatment in conjunction with psychological interventions.
Ketamine for Specific Populations & Conditions
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Eating Disorders With Co-occurring Depression and Anxiety
This study suggests the potential utility of G-KAP as an adjunct to intensive, specialized ED treatment. Overall, this novel, cross-diagnostic intervention warrants future research to further explore its appropriateness in a treatment setting.