People who suffer from autoimmune diseases often suffer from depression as well. Ketamine seems to be the next big thing for depression, especially for elderly patients.
By Dawn Flemming
According to a study of subjects with depression, almost half of them (43%) reported that that had no big symptoms of depression after trying Ketamine for six months.
Researchers have outlined the “remarkable” effects of ketamine on depression. According to the study, the biggest winners of this were people over 60.
The study was published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
This is quite big news because the 43% of people who responded to ketamine were people who had not responded to any depression medication previous to that. So this is an amazing breakthrough!
Look at what the Independent said when interviewing the scientists behind the ketamine study:
“It is truly remarkable the way ketamine can work,” she said. “Other people have also found you get a rapid and powerful effect after a single dose of ketamine.”
“Some people mistakenly think we are inducing a temporary, drug-induced euphoria and people are ‘out of it’, which is why they’re not depressed.
“But the effects take place in the first hour, and they’re not euphoric at all. In fact, all of our research participants disliked them. They considered them adverse effects.
“The antidepressant effect kicks in a few hours later and are maximised about 20 hours later, when you’re fully alert and in your usual state of mind.”
This is very important because a lot of the patients who responded were those whom nothing had worked before this. The Independent continued:
While research into the use of ketamine to treat mental health problems is still in its early stages, scientists at Oxford University have said their studies show the drug can provide relief to patients with severe depression “where nothing has helped before”.
The other good news about ketamine is that it can be taken in multiple ways and not just intravenous infusions.
Of course this is not a miracle drug and it may come with its problems. But these studies are a good promise for people who suffer from depression, especially those who are above 60 and suffer from a variety of ailments, including autoimmune diseases like arthritis.
Anxiety and depression affects about 15 million adults in the U.S, which is about 6.8% of the population.
Dawn Flemming is Director of Business Services at Geriatric In-Home Care in Fresno, California.