IV Ketamine 2 or 3 Times Per Week Improves Depression
October 12, 2016 · Posted in Potential Treatments
We have written many times before about intravenous ketamine as a fast-acting antidepressant treatment that can produce results within hours. Unfortunately, these quick results tend to fade within a few days. Current research is focused on possible ways of extending ketamine’s antidepressant effects.
A 2016 article by Jaskaran B. Singh and colleagues in the American Journal of Psychiatry reported that giving depressed patients infusions of ketamine (0.5mg/kg of body weight) twice or three times per week improved their depression compared to placebo over a period of up to 2 weeks.
Side effects included headache, anxiety, dissociation, nausea, and dizziness. The dissociation was temporary and improved with repeated dosing.
