Mount Horeb, Wisconsin (CNN) A few months ago, Alan Ferguson decided he was ready to die — for the third time. In 2014, he attempted suicide twice, and the persistent thoughts of “I need to be dead” were echoing in his brain once again. Now 54 years old, Ferguson was diagnosed with clinical depression when … Read more
Ketamine has “shown promise” in the rapid treatment of major depression and suicidal thoughts, a US study says. Ketamine has a reputation as a party drug but is licensed as an anaesthetic. The study found use of the drug via a nasal spray led to “significant” improvements in depressive symptoms in the first 24 hours. … Read more
Aug. 21, 2018 — Ketamine, a widely used anesthetic that’s also an illicit party drug, has taken on a new role in recent years: treating severe depression in people who have not responded to standard treatment. Researchers have called it the most exciting breakthrough in the field of depression research in the past half-century. One form of the drug, being … Read more
Ketamine is best known for its use as an anesthetic medication. But recent research suggests that ketamine may be useful for treating a whole host of mental health problems, including treatment-resistant depression. Some have even lauded it as the largest breakthrough on depression in decades. What is treatment resistant depression? Approximately 10-20% of depression patients suffer what … Read more
Intranasal ketamine is noninferior to intranasal fentanyl at relieving pain in children with acute extremity injuries, a new study found. “We were happy to discover similar results to the two other prior pediatric trials and pleasantly surprised to see how similar the rates of rescue analgesia were to those studies,” Dr. Theresa M. Frey of … Read more
Two new studies suggest the psychiatric benefits of ketamine treatment may extend beyond just the targeting of depression. The research demonstrates ketamine may be helpful in targeting both anxiety- and substance abuse-related depression. Although ketamine is a relatively old drug, originally developed in the 1950s as an anesthetic, over the last decade a growing body … Read more
A version of the club drug is expected to be approved for depression in March. Researchers think it could help treat suicidal thinking. Joe Wright has no doubt that ketamine saved his life. A 34-year-old high school teacher who writes poetry every day on a typewriter, Wright was plagued by suicidal impulses for years. The … Read more
You’re used to being the go-getter-est of them all. But with complex regional pain syndrome, you can barely get up. It’s really throwing a wrench into your fast-paced lifestyle. CRPS often strikes after recovery from an injury — a sprain, fracture or minor surgery. It results in intense pain or sensitivity to small stimuli, typically in … Read more
Why is ketamine exciting for treating depression? If a person responds to ketamine, it can rapidly reduce suicidality (life-threatening thoughts and acts) and relieve other serious symptoms of depression. Ketamine also can be effective for treating depression combined with anxiety. Other treatments for suicidal thoughts and depression often take weeks or even months to take effect, … Read more
In 2019, more than 16 million adults in the United States suffered from Major Depression Disorder (MDD) – and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic started. The situation has only worsened; recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that approximately 36 percent of adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression over the past week. … Read more