Ketamine could reduce suicidal ideation for people diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) if used in small controlled doses, Taiwanese researchers said on Thursday.
When taken in small doses, ketamine could act as an antidepressant in just a few hours, and could act as a “filler” medication to take alongside traditional medication prescribed to fight depression, Cheng Hsin General Hospital physician Su Tung-ping (蘇東平) told a news conference at the hospital when presenting their findings.
People who were part of a study presented in the paper were ranked according to Item 10 of the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), with a 4 meaning “the person feels they’d be better off dead; suicidal thoughts common and considered as a possible solution, but no specific plans/intention,” and a 6 meaning “the person has explicit plans for suicide; active preparations,” Su said. The study recruited outpatients, comprised of 59 women and 20 men, who have TRD and prominent suicidal ideation, and randomized them into two groups to receive 0.5mg/kg of ketamine or 0.045mg/kg of Midazolam, Su said.
Photo: CNA
The study results support the use of rapid antidepressant and antisuicidal effects of low-dose ketamine infusion in people with TRD and prominent suicidal ideation, Su said.
The antidepressant effect of ketamine persisted for up to two weeks, but the antisuicidal effect lasted only five days, Su said.
Su said that the timing of ketamine treatment was crucial.
Patients with moderate or low treatment refractoriness or drug responsiveness, current depressive episodes that have persisted for less than 24 months, or less than or equal to four failed antidepressant treatments, might receive the greatest benefits from low-dose ketamine infusion, he said.
Cerebral tomography of patients before the use of ketamine showed low metabolization in the frontal lobe, which became more active after the injection of ketamine, Su said.
Some TRD patients might entertain suicidal thoughts from the moment they wake up every day, adding that this research could help inhibit such thoughts and make them “want to live,” Taipei Veterans General Hospital Department of Psychiatry physician Chen Mu-hong (陳牧宏) said.
Su also said that as only minute doses of ketamine were used on an infrequent basis, no person has experienced addiction to ketamine, adding that even people undergoing an intense treatment of three infusions a week for several consecutive weeks were “still manageable.”
The study was featured in Volume 26, Issue 5 of the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, published in May.
Additional reporting by CNA
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS