Study claims Ketamine can reduce depression and soothe suicidal thoughts

By Georgia Lambert via SWNS

Rave drug ketamine, dubbed 'Special K', quickly reduces depression and soothes suicidal thoughts in those with mental health problems, according to new research.

According to the University of Exeter, ketamine therapy has a short-term effect on reducing the symptoms of depression.

Researchers at the university uncovered this evidence by analyzing evidence from 83 published papers that looked at the use of ketamine to treat both major depression and bipolar depression.

The previous studies revealed that in patients who suffered from the conditions, their symptoms were reduced as swiftly as one to four hours after a single treatment and the effects lasted up to two weeks.

Although this discovery is exciting for experts and patients alike, some evidence has suggested that repeated treatment of ketamine may prolong the effects, but in order to paint a clearer picture of how long, higher-quality research will need to be conducted.

Similarly, the researchers found that single or multiple doses of ketamine resulted in moderate to large reductions in suicidal thoughts.

This staggering improvement was seen as early as four hours following the ketamine treatment, which lasted for an average of three days, with some patients relieved from suicidal thoughts for up to a week.

“Our research is the most comprehensive review of the growing body of evidence on the therapeutic effects of ketamine to date,"said lead author Merve Mollaahmetoglu.

"Our findings suggest that ketamine may be useful in providing rapid relief from depression and suicidal thoughts, creating a window of opportunity for further therapeutic interventions to be effective."

The PhD student continued: "It’s important to note that this review examined ketamine administration in carefully controlled clinical settings where any risks of ketamine can be safely managed."

According to Mollaahmetoglu, there is promising evidence to suggest that other psychiatric disorders like anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, could benefit from ketamine treatment.

Surprisingly the papers also showed that people with substance use disorders also responded well to the treatment which led to short-term reductions in craving, consumption, and withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Mollaahmetoglu's review has added to the growing field of research into the potential benefits of ketamine for conditions where there it is notoriously difficult to receive effective treatment.

Her review included a combination of 33 systematic reviews, 29 randomized control trials, and 21 observational studies.

The strong anaesthetic drug is now known for its effects on depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts, thanks to in-depth and an exhaustive list of analyses on the topic.

This drives the evidence further to suggest that ketamine has antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects.

However, ketamine's therapeutic effects for psychiatric conditions other than depression and suicidal thoughts are based on a small number of studies that did not randomise people.

This means that the recorded effects now require a large randomised placebo-controlled trial to investigate the breadth of its effects further.

The study's authors felt like there are a number of difficulties lurking within the research field, that they think future studies should seek to address.

One issue is the bias created because the participants realise they have been given ketamine, rather than a saline solution.

Professor Celia Morgan, the study's senior author said: “We’re finding that ketamine may have promising benefits for conditions that are notoriously hard to treat in clinic.

"We now need bigger and better-designed trials to test these benefits. For example, due to ketamine’s unique subjective effects participants may be able to tell whether they have been given ketamine or a saline solution as the placebo, potentially creating an expectation about the effects of the drug.

"This effect may be better controlled by having active placebo-controlled trials, where the control group receives another drug with psychoactive properties.”

A number of questions remain unanswered in the field of research, including how much a dose should be, the route of administration, and how many doses of ketamine would be needed.

There is also an outcry for further research on the added and interactive benefits of psychotherapy undertaken alongside ketamine treatment.

According to the researchers, more research is also needed on finding out how to optimise patients' preparation for ketamine treatment, and the setting in which ketamine treatment is delivered.

The study's findings were published in the British Journal of Psychiatry Open.