In the News: Ketamine for Depression and Mental Illness
Ketamine has been featured in the news as medical providers explore its transformative potential for treating mental illness.
Read our round-up of reports on Ketamine for depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.
Ketamine’s Life Changing Effects
In this article, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School calls Ketamine therapy “one of the biggest advances in psychiatry in a long time.”
The article explores how Ketamine therapy changed to life of a man, James, who suffered from severe bipolar disorder. His specific type of bipolar disorder did not respond to traditional psychiatric treatments.
His condition caused symptoms like paranoia, anxiety, and overheating. He struggled with regular employment, and his anxiety also interrupted his wife’s work schedule when she began to fear for his physical safety.
Through Ketamine Therapy, James was able to regain his sense of peace and calm, and to excel in his career.
“How Do You Not Offer This Drug to People?”
This article delves into the promising results of Ketamine Therapy in the treatment of severe depression.
A professor of Psychiatry at Yale University states that Ketamine is crucial for patients who may engage in self-harming behaviors. Especially if those patients have tried other treatments that failed to help.
The article also discusses Ketamine’s effects on a neurotransmitter called glutamate, which is believed to cause many of its positive effects.
Because Ketamine Therapy for depression and other mental disorders is a new and ongoing treatment, the article touches on the need for more in-depth studies – but says the effects so far are hopeful, and an important option for patients in crisis.
Repairing Damaged Brain Circuits
This NPR article explores how Ketamine has been shown to rewire the brain.
This is important because people with conditions like depression or chronic stress often show signs of damage and shrinkage within certain areas of the brain.
The research suggests that Ketamine performs two important functions: repairing brain circuitry and building new synapses. According to the study involving rats, Ketamine can trigger the former in just six hours, and the latter in about 12 hours.
The articles explains that Ketamine may provide short, quick results by temporarily helping faulty circuits work better, while offering potential longer-term results with synaptogenesis (the creation of new synapses). These functions could also be interconnected and influence each other.
This may explain why Ketamine for depression and other mental disorders often works when traditional treatments fail.
Defy Medical on the Morning News
Defy Medical’s own Vice President Nicole Bruce recently joined ABC’s Morning Blend to discuss Ketamine Therapy.
In the segment, Nicole illuminates the benefits of Ketamine Therapy, explains how Ketamine impacts the brain, and goes over the simple process of receiving Ketamine Therapy at Defy Medical’s Tampa clinic.
She discusses how Ketamine Therapy is especially promising for people who experience treatment-resistant depression, or other mental disorders that don’t respond to traditional treatments.
As the research above also demonstrates, Ketamine’s mechanisms of action seem to be much different from other treatments, which lets Ketamine take effect more quickly and often offer relief from hard-to-treat conditions.
Ketamine for Depression and Mental Illness at Defy Medical
Ketamine Therapy at Defy Medical is available in-office at the Tampa clinic.
Patients settle into a comfortable lounge chair in a calming environment with headphones and an eye mask. The Ketamine IV therapy session lasts around 40 minutes to an hour and is monitored by an experienced provider.
Most patients report that they feel calm, relaxed, and happy during their treatment. Some patients experience results as soon as their first session (results are individual and may vary). The number of sessions required depends on your unique situation and goals for treatment.
You don’t have to just live with debilitating mental health conditions. If you feel like you’ve lost control of your life, or that you can’t find happiness and contentment, Ketamine IV treatment may be able to help.
The news articles above show that trusted medical professionals consider Ketamine to be a promising treatment for mental health disorders like treatment-resistant depression.
Ready to learn more about Ketamine Therapy? Contact us at [email protected] for more information and to book an appointment, or visit our Ketamine Therapy page.