Depression keeps on being an ailment that isn’t totally comprehended. Current neuroscience has thought of sensible and durable models, which portray melancholy as the insufficiency or decreased movement of the synapses Serotonin, Norepinephrine, and Dopamine in the mind. All FDA-endorsed drugs influence one of or a greater amount of the above synapses. The expertise in…
The Changing landscape of depression medication The emergence of the first targeted antidepressant drugs more than 50 years ago marked an enormous shift in the treatment of depression. But in the ensuing years, the science has somewhat stagnated. Most antidepressants on the market today target monoamine neurotransmitter function, essentially increasing the levels of key chemicals in…
Cognitive functioning is one of the main symptoms of major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression and affects the daily quality of life in these patients. Cognitive functioning is defined as the ability to process and comprehend new information that allows us to carry out daily tasks and is often assessed by testing memory or ability…
A recent study from August had originally introduced the idea that ketamine may act like an opioid. This was reinforced by a small study of 7 patients that showed that patients who received naltrexone (a medication that blocks the effects of opioids and is also used to treat alcohol dependence) before their ketamine infusion felt…
“I received ketamine anesthesia during ECT treatment: Will that help treat my depression?” Long before ketamine was used in low doses to treat refractory depression, it was (and still is!) a very a widely used anesthetic agent. The World Health Organization (WHO) even lists ketamine as an “essential medicine,” and among the safest and…
Elderly Depression- Over recent years, there has been a boom in scientific studies regarding the use of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. These studies have shown time and time again that ketamine is a powerful and rapid anti-depressant that can significantly decrease suicidal thoughts and improve depressive symptoms. These studies and the scientific community urge strict…
A new study released in October in Molecular Psychiatry explored what the optimal ketamine dose is for its use as an antidepressant. Most studies that have looked at ketamine’s ability to rapidly reduce depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation used 0.5mg/kg over 40 minutes as the target dose, and lower (ex: 0.1mg/kg) or higher (1.0mg/kg) doses…
On August 29th, The American Journal of Psychiatry published a research study out of Stanford University that aimed to explain the relationship between ketamine and the opioid pathway in the brain. Low-dose ketamine has been known to alleviate depressive symptoms for years, but researchers aren’t sure exactly how it works to ease depression. The main…
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a painful debilitating neurological condition that accounts for approximately 1.2% of the adult chronic pain population. Patients with CRPS have pain, impairment of motor function, limitations in range of motion, and an exaggerated response to painful stimuli. Most cases of CRPS develop after a traumatic injury, such as a…
When considering ketamine as a treatment for your depression, it is important to note that best results are achieved when multiple approaches are taken to your mental health care. A combination therapy approach will maximize the results of the ketamine infusions and significantly decrease your depression symptoms. Some treatment options that should be considered include…