New Study – Ketamine Effects and Side Effects
The science behind ketamine as an effective treatment for depression continues to grow. We’ve known for some time that ketamine works and that it works fast in treating depression and dramatically reducing suicidal thoughts. And thanks to a recent study, we now know more about why the medication has that effect and also its potential side effects.
You’ll find a quick breakdown of the study in this article by Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet — “New findings on how ketamine acts against depression.” It discusses key new findings by the organization’s researchers about how ketamine works.
When the medicine has an effect, it relieves depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts very quickly.
Per Svenningsson, professor Karolinska Institutet
Will ketamine work for me?
For the average patient, it’s enough to know that ketamine works and that the FDA has approved certain available versions. However, there are a couple additional important questions you should ask your psychiatrist, namely ‘Will ketamine work for me? And if it doesn’t, what next?’
Our Minneapolis psychiatry and ketamine clinic, as well as our Rapid City clinic have been using ketamine therapy to rapidly treat treatment-resistant depression, suicidality, and PTSD. And our own Dr. Brian Johns performed an early landmark ketamine study with researchers at the Minneapolis VA Healthcare System, which set the benchmark for ketamine infusions nationwide.
And of course, even with all that experience and knowledge, we believe the most effective treatment approach is to determine what you need. Used appropriately in the full context of a patient’s overall lifestyle, health and psychiatric needs, advanced new treatments, like ketamine for depression, can indeed work wonders. Not only by keeping patients out of the emergency room, but by transforming lives.
Learn why a holistic approach is best for treating depression.
Brian Johns, MD is a Minneapolis psychiatrist and a mental health leader who helped shape ketamine treatment for depression in Minnesota and the nation. He co-authored a Minnesota VA Hospital medical trial to open the door for ketamine treatment to change–from a revolving-door hospital intervention, to an ongoing regimen at an outpatient clinic–while setting the benchmark for ketamine infusions nationwide. He then developed the region’s first ketamine infusion clinic. Over the past several years, he has administered or overseen thousands of ketamine treatments. Dr. Johns is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School and completed his residency in Psychiatry. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
