Chronic anxiety, depression, and pain can lead to a reduction in neuronal connections, causing a stunted neural network.
Ketamine aids in repairing this damage by promoting neuroplasticity, facilitating the growth of new connections, and enhancing the strength of neural networks within the brain.
Ketamine can also help reduce negative thoughts by regulating activity in a region of the brain called the default mode network.
By altering connectivity in this part of the brain, ketamine can help people to break out of old thought patterns that cause anxiety and depression.
Given its ability to promote the creation of new, healthy neural connections, ketamine can be a powerful tool for managing mental health and chronic pain.
Many people find that the positive effects of ketamine therapy last for months, and occasional "boosters" can prolong these effects even more.
Clinical research continues to demonstrate that ketamine can be used to treat mental health conditions and their symptoms successfully.
Our training as anesthesia providers has us very interested in the control and taking away of pain. Ketamine is used day in and day out across the country as part of a multimodal plan to reduce pain in patients. That includes pain from Migraine headaches, Cancer Pain, Neuropathic Pain, Fibromyalgia, Lyme Disease, Chronic Sickle Cell Pain and much more.
Ketamine for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: comprehensive systematic review
A study of ketamine’s psychotherapeutic potential and systematic review of the extensive evidence on ketamine’s effects in treating mental health disorders.
Ketamine for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: comprehensive systematic review
A study of ketamine’s psychotherapeutic potential and systematic review of the extensive evidence on ketamine’s effects in treating mental health disorders.
Ketamine for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: comprehensive systematic review
A study of ketamine’s psychotherapeutic potential and systematic review of the extensive evidence on ketamine’s effects in treating mental health disorders.
Ketamine for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: comprehensive systematic review
A study of ketamine’s psychotherapeutic potential and systematic review of the extensive evidence on ketamine’s effects in treating mental health disorders.
Ketamine for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: comprehensive systematic review
A study of ketamine’s psychotherapeutic potential and systematic review of the extensive evidence on ketamine’s effects in treating mental health disorders.
Over the last number of decades, sub-anaesthetic doses of ketamine have been demonstrated to have rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, and accumulating research has demonstrated ketamine’s therapeutic effects for a range of psychiatric conditions.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses provide support for robust, rapid and transient antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects of ketamine. Optimal dosing, modes of administration and the most effective forms of adjunctive psychotherapeutic support should be examined further for alcohol disorders; anxiety disorders; depressive disorders; post-traumatic disorders.
Citation: Walsh Z, Mollaahmetoglu OM, Rootman J, Golsof S, Keeler J, Marsh B, Nutt DJ, Morgan CJA. Ketamine for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: comprehensive systematic review. BJPsych Open. 2021 Dec 23;8(1):e19. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2021.1061. Erratum in: BJPsych Open. 2022 Jan 18;8(1):e29. PMID: 35048815; PMCID: PMC8715255.
There was a significant improvement in depression, anxiety, and the severity of illness after 2 weeks and 1 month of the last dose of ketamine. Significant improvement at 1 st h of the first dose was seen in depression and anxiety and not for illness severity. There were transient adverse effects observed in some patients which subsided within 1 h. This study concluded that Ketamine has a robust and rapid effect on depression, which was seen immediately after the administration of ketamine and sustained at the end of 1 month.
Citation: Mandal S, Sinha VK, Goyal N. Efficacy of ketamine therapy in the treatment of depression. Indian J Psychiatry. 2019 Sep-Oct;61(5):480-485. doi: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_484_18. PMID: 31579184; PMCID: PMC6767816.
Chronic pain affects roughly 20% of the population worldwide, and many patients experience its detrimental effects on their quality of life and mental health. Ketamine has shown effective with chronic pain including neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia as well as Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and Phantom Limb Pain (PLP). Randomized controlled trials have shown that ketamine is an effective treatment modality for CRPS and Phantom Limb Pain PLP refractory to standard treatment options and should be considered for refractory mixed neuropathic pain. It has also been found to be an effective long-term pharmacologic therapy for depression, a common comorbidity of chronic pain that may affect its disease course.
Citation:Israel JE, St Pierre S, Ellis E, Hanukaai JS, Noor N, Varrassi G, Wells M, Kaye AD. Ketamine for the Treatment of Chronic Pain: A Comprehensive Review. Health Psychol Res. 2021 Jul 10;9(1):25535. doi: 10.52965/001c.25535. PMID: 34746491; PMCID: PMC8567802.