Depressive disorders are very serious and often have debilitating physical symptoms as well. Many people don’t seek out treatment because of fear, embarrassment, or apathy. Left untreated, many psychological disorders can worsen to the point where suicide may be attempted or committed.
Major Depression
The brains of individuals with major depression look different (in MRI scans) than the brains of individuals without depression. Physical changes occur within the brain and no amount of thinking positive or ignoring the situation will help relieve the symptoms.
Between 30% and 40% of people with depression do not get better or recover with traditional antidepressants. Those individuals may lose hope in ever feeling better, but there are other options when the conventional options fail.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects millions of people and is among the most disabling illnesses worldwide. Current antidepressant treatments may not achieve full clinical remissions even after optimization of initial treatment often needing several weeks before an improvement is felt.
Manipulation of monoamine neurotransmitter systems (e.g. norepinephrine, dopamine, or serotonin) is the mechanism underlying almost all current antidepressant agents. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an alternative treatment to conventional drugs and has been shown to be effective in severe depression with psychotic symptoms. However, ECT is not always well tolerated. There are concerns regarding its safety and its use is limited to patients with contraindications to pharmacological treatments or who are treatment-resistant. ECT also requires three weeks on average to cause a significant improvement in symptoms.
Abnormalities in glutamatergic signaling may be the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder. Ketamine has shown a rapid and significant antidepressant effect after a single low-dose infusion. The neurobiological mechanism of action underlying the antidepressant actions of ketamine is still unknown.
Ketamine Therapy
When traditional antidepressants and treatments for psychological disorders fail to produce results, patients with depression, bipolar disorder, or PTSD may become even more hopeless than they were before.
Ketamine therapy, for reasons unknown to physicians and scientists, is providing relief to those who have not found relief with other treatment plans. During ketamine therapy, a psychiatrist will be intimately involved in the treatment and progression of treatment for anyone who suffers from a psychological disorder.
The blockade of NMDA-type glutamate receptors may be the mechanism of action. Ketamine is a glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. It has been associated with rapid antidepressant effects in patients with major depressive disorder (including treatment-resistant major depression) in several small studies and case reports.
Ketamine infusions at low doses could be considered an alternative treatment to standard compounds in resistant MDD, including ECT-resistant, or when there is a need for a rapid relief of symptoms. Ketamine could also be used as a booster to standard antidepressant regimens and safely administered without withdrawing medications.
Also, ketamine therapy tends to have significantly fewer side effects than traditional antidepressants, and the effects last for longer periods of time.
If you or someone you love suffers from depression, bipolar disorder, or PTSD and has not found relief with traditional medications, treatments, or therapies, ketamine therapy may be able to help.
Please contact us to learn more about ketamine therapy for psychological disorders.