Could the illegal party drug ketamine ease depression? Horse tranquilizer improves sufferers’ sleep and interest

  • Patients who respond to the drug have greater overall activity levels days later
  • Depressive episodes are characterized by a reduced interest in activities
  • More activities before infusion is associated with higher amounts afterwards
  • Doctors may therefore be able to predict patients who will respond to the drug
  • Ketamine is a Schedule III drug in the United States and a class B in the UK 

The illegal party drug ketamine could ease depression, new research suggests.

Patients who respond to the horse tranquilizer have greater overall activity levels days after its infusion, a study found.

Depressive episodes are partially characterized by a reduced interest in activities. 

Responsive patients also sleep better the following day, the research adds.

Ketamine is a Schedule III drug in the United States and a class B in the UK. It can legally be prescribed by doctors as a general anesthetic in humans and animals. 

The illegal party drug ketamine could ease depression, new research suggests

The illegal party drug ketamine could ease depression, new research suggests

COULD A KETAMINE VACCINE PREVENT POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER?

Ketamine could prevent people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, scientists claimed in February.

A single dose of the illegal drug, given one week before a stressful event, can buffer against a heightened fear response, a study found.

The astonishing finding comes amid a push from the medical industry to test ecstasy and LSD as potential therapies to treat depression and autism.

'Ketamine is a powerful drug, and we wouldn't advocate widespread use for preventing or reducing PTSD symptoms,' said study leader Dr Christine Denny, assistant professor of clinical neurobiology in Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center.

'But if our results in mice translate to humans, giving a single dose of ketamine in a vaccine-like fashion could have great benefit for people who are highly likely to experience significant stressors, such as members of the military or aid workers going into conflict zones.' 

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How the study was carried out 

Researchers from the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, analyzed 51 people with major depressive or bipolar disorder.

All of the study's participants failed to respond to previous treatments.

They were given a single infusion of ketamine.

The researchers tracked the timing and degree of participants' activities via wristwatches.

Ketamine boosts activity levels

Results reveal that depressed patients who respond to ketamine have greater overall activity levels three days later.

Depressive episodes are partially characterized by a reduced interest in activities. 

Such patients also experience improved sleep quality the day after drug infusion.  

Those who do more activities prior to ketamine's infusion have more favorable outcomes, which suggests doctors can predict patients who will respond to the drug.

Dr John Krystal, editor of the journal Biological Psychiatry, where the study was published, said: 'It would be nice if daily patterns of activity could be used clinically to identify people who might respond to ketamine and to monitor clinical improvement.'

Previous research reveals ketamine likely eases depression by promoting the growth of new connections between brain cells in the regions associated with mood and emotion.

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