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posted by martyb on Sunday December 17 2017, @02:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the improved-outlook dept.

Study: Suicidal Thoughts Rapidly Reduced with Ketamine

Ketamine was significantly more effective than a commonly used sedative in reducing suicidal thoughts in depressed patients, according to researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). They also found that ketamine's anti-suicidal effects occurred within hours after its administration.

The findings were published online last week in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Ketamine for Rapid Reduction of Suicidal Thoughts in Major Depression: A Midazolam-Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial (DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17060647) (DX)

The reduction in SSI score at day 1 was 4.96 points greater for the ketamine group compared with the midazolam group (95% CI=2.33, 7.59; Cohen's d=0.75). The proportion of responders (defined as having a reduction ≥50% in SSI score) at day 1 was 55% for the ketamine group and 30% for the midazolam group (odds ratio=2.85, 95% CI=1.14, 7.15; number needed to treat=4.0). Improvement in the Profile of Mood States depression subscale was greater at day 1 for the ketamine group compared with the midazolam group (estimate=7.65, 95% CI=1.36, 13.94), and this effect mediated 33.6% of ketamine's effect on SSI score. Side effects were short-lived, and clinical improvement was maintained for up to 6 weeks with additional optimized standard pharmacotherapy in an uncontrolled follow-up.

Wikipedia's entry on midazolam notes:

Midazolam, marketed under the trade name Versed, among others, is a medication used for anesthesia, procedural sedation, trouble sleeping, and severe agitation. It works by inducing sleepiness, decreasing anxiety, and causing a loss of ability to create new memories. It is also useful for the treatment of seizures

Related: 4/20: The Third Time's Not the Charm
Study Suggests Psilocybin "Resets" the Brains of Depressed People


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 17 2017, @04:24AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 17 2017, @04:24AM (#610854)

    All illegal drugs were legal once, legality is just a filter for effectiveness in this puritanical age.

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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 17 2017, @05:09AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 17 2017, @05:09AM (#610867)

    Yep. If you want something that will help cure a mental difficulty holding you back, you're not going to find it in the legal selection. You might become successful without that mental difficulty, and people who are already successful hate competition.

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by deimios on Sunday December 17 2017, @05:59AM (1 child)

      by deimios (201) Subscriber Badge on Sunday December 17 2017, @05:59AM (#610874) Journal

      No need to go looking for conspiracy theories when you can blame capitalism: Treatments that temporarily suppress symptoms bring in boatloads more money than treatments that eliminate the sickness.

      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 17 2017, @06:39AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 17 2017, @06:39AM (#610882)

        There's also the control element - if people depend on you for medicine, you have power over them. Curing people relinquishes that power. Keeping addictive drugs illegal is also a power thing. When someone has a dependency on a substance that isn't legal you can exploit and control them at every turn, whether it's through the law or through the substances. Prohibition is an authoritarian's wet dream.