Research & More,
from 1/31/25 Educational Open House
from 1/31/25 Educational Open House
Research
Ketamine for acute suicidality in the emergency department: A systematic review
Conclusion: "...Current evidence suggests that ketamine is a promising, safe potential intervention for acute suicidality in the ED…. this promising potential intervention should be further investigated.”
Maguire, L., Bullard, T., & Papa, L. (2021). Ketamine for acute suicidality in the emergency department: A systematic review. The American journal of emergency medicine, 43, 54–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2020.12.088
Active mechanisms of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy: A systematic review
From 2022 review of 5 studies, which they cite as a limit of the findings - “Evidence suggests that temporary neural changes caused by ketamine such as n-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) inhibition and increase of synaptic neuroplasticity affect treatment outcomes of KAP. Based on reports of preliminary findings, we speculate that adjunct psychotherapy, changes in perspective, and spirituality may also play a role.” We need more research and large scale studies.
Isak Joneborg, Yena Lee, Joshua D. Di Vincenzo, Felicia Ceban, Shakila Meshkat, Leanna M.W. Lui, Farhan Fancy, Joshua D. Rosenblat, Roger S. McIntyre, Active mechanisms of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy: A systematic review, Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 315, 2022, Pages 105-112, ISSN 0165-0327, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.07.030. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032722007984)
Sublingual Ketamine for Depression and Anxiety: A Retrospective Study of Real-World Clinical Outcomes
From 2024 (pre-print) Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of repeated at-home ketamine treatments for depression, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety and assess safety in terms of adverse effects and tendency towards long-term use...Conclusions: Repeated sublingual ketamine significantly reduced depression, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety with no major adverse events and minimal tendency towards long-term use observed. These findings prompt further exploration of ketamine as an alternative or adjunct to medications such as SSRIs and benzodiazepines to minimize response delays and dependence risk.
Lauren N. Swanson, Lila S. Jones, Jose Muñoz Aycart, Zhipeng Zhu, David M. Rabin, Taylor Kuhn. medRxiv 2024.01.30.24301798; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.30.24301798
Rapid neuroplasticity changes and response to intravenous ketamine: a randomized controlled trial in treatment-resistant depression
From 2023...Conclusion: In the past two decades, ketamine has emerged as one of the most promising pharmacological treatments for depression since selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) became available. While the exact mechanism is unknown, it has been hypothesized that ketamine’s antidepressant effects are at least in part mediated by increases in neuroplasticity broadly, and by synaptogenic actions specifically. We found that a proxy for structural neuroplasticity was associated with treatment response to ketamine in a subset of the depression-relevant brain regions we examined. These results have important implications for the development of synergistic therapies and for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms by which ketamine exerts rapid antidepressant actions in depressed patients.
Kopelman, J., Keller, T.A., Panny, B. et al. Rapid neuroplasticity changes and response to intravenous ketamine: a randomized controlled trial in treatment-resistant depression. Transl Psychiatry 13, 159 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02451-0
Ketamine effects on default mode network activity and vigilance: A randomized, placebo-controlled crossover simultaneous fMRI/EEG study
From 2019…results suggest a direct relationship between ketamine-induced functional connectivity changes and the concomitant decrease of vigilance in EEG. The observed functional changes after ketamine administration may serve as surrogate end points and provide a neurophysiological framework, for example, for the antidepressant action of ketamine
Zacharias, N., Musso, F., Müller, F., Lammers, F., Saleh, A., London, M., de Boer, P., & Winterer, G. (2020). Ketamine effects on default mode network activity and vigilance: A randomized, placebo-controlled crossover simultaneous fMRI/EEG study. Human brain mapping, 41(1), 107–119. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24791