Effectiveness of Ketamine

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Effectiveness of Ketamine
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Effectiveness of Ketamine

• In the cases of treatment-resistant depression,
  the patient is already quite bothered, adding
  several types of medications would further make
  him frustrated. It is due to this reason, those
  people who have gone through depression or those
  who have a relative or know someone with
  depression, do consider the wider use of
  ketamine. Ketamine is a dissociative drug taken
  by recreational drug abusers mostly to feel more
  detached from the world around them.
• In the latest research. Clinical researchers in
  Sweden highlighted why ketamine infusion therapy
  works so rapidly and how even low doses can be
  quite effective for those patients with major
  depressive disorder.

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Ketamine Treatment for Depression

• Scientists used brain scans of around 30
  participants. These participants had tried the
  usually prescribed antidepressant drugs (i.e.
  Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
  including Celexa, Lexapro, etc) and these drugs
  have not relieved their symptoms. After a low
  dose of IV ketamine therapy, the scans revealed
  that they had an elevated number of serotonin 1B
  receptors which is a positive sign showing the
  symptoms are getting better.
• Serotonin is basically a chemical that your body
  produces that delivers signals between your nerve
  cells and it has been revealed to contribute to
  the regulation of mood and feelings of wellbeing.
• The mode of action of SSRIs is that they increase
  the levels of serotonin in the brain, however,
  they dont work well in cases when there are not
  enough receptors to catch the chemical.
  Increasing the number of serotonin receptors will
  enable more and more serotonin and dopamine,
  which is another neurotransmitter that makes you
  feel good, to be released efficiently, and hence
  the symptoms of depression will be relieved.

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Ketamine Treatment for Depression

• In another study, the above process happened
  around 24-72 hours after the IV ketamine therapy
  was given among 72 of the participants
• Around more than 17 million people or we can say
  about 7 of the adults in the USA are dealing
  with depression. The majority of those with
  depression get some combine therapy and
  medications which includes psychotherapy, SSRIs,
  antidepressants whereas 35 of the people having
  major depressive episodes could not receive the
  required treatment.

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Potential of Ketamine

• Potential of Ketamine
• Several other types of research have been done
  about the effectiveness of ketamine as an
  antidepressant in cases of treatment-resistant
  depression. According to the European Journal of
  Anaesthesiology, ketamine was introduced in the
  early 1950s when physicians developed this drug
  as a veterinary anesthetic. After some years, it
  began being used on humans but it was found that
  it produces a trance-like, dissociative state. It
  was one of the reasons it's currently used in
  emergency rooms for conditions like resetting a
  dislocated shoulder.
• The antidepressant effect of Iv ketamine therapy
  was acknowledged in 2000 in a study published in
  Biological Psychiatry. Although it was a small
  study including only 7 participants, it formed
  the basis of further research which eventually
  led to FDA approval in 2019.

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Potential of Ketamine

• Recently a meta-analysis was published which
  showed rapid and robust antidepressant effects of
  a single dose of IV ketamine therapy in
  treatment-resistant depression patients. It
  included data from other researches too to show
  for the first time that repeated IV ketamine
  therapy is effective and has high efficacy in
  getting the initial antidepressant effects seen
  after single dosing.